All Along
by gfcf14
Summary: Sarah is shocked Double D is in love with May. She cannot accept seeing them become closer, and starts to become reclusive. How will she come to terms with life around her? Set a few days after Let's play a game.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 _Nothing could soothe her better than a nice cup of tea with biscuits after a stressful day._

 _She was wearing a white princess dress, complete with a silver tiara with shining rubies. Elated, she made her way to her bedroom, where she found Jimmy standing, solemn, before her. With great decorum, Jimmy held the door knob and opened the door while leaning forward and stretching a hand inside for the strawberry blonde to go in._

" _Your guest awaits, Sarah."_

Guest? But I don't remember inviting anyone… Who could it be?

 _As soon as Sarah sat down on one of the cushions on the floor next to the tea table, she looked at her guest, sitting with his back towards her. She glanced from the table upwards to see his black tuxedo, moderately broad shoulders, and… beanie cap?_

Beanie… Double D?

 _Suddenly, the guest rolled around to let Sarah see his face. Ed's little sister felt her heart beat rapidly as soon as she fixated her eyes on his. Double D did the same, and as he realized she was looking at him intently, he smiled, revealing white teeth which Sarah could have sworn had blinded her sight for an instant._

" _Hello, my sweet turtle dove... Ready for an amazing evening?"_

 _Sarah couldn't believe her dreams were becoming true. Double D was sitting down in front of her, well dressed, and more handsome than ever._

" _I-I…"_

" _Yes, my love?" At the mention of such words, Sarah's colors went straight to her face._

" _I didn't know you felt this way for me, D-Double—"_

" _I do, Sarah. I have always been in love with you. I have never shown it properly before, so let me prove it to you right here and now..."_

 _And with that, Double D leaned closer to Sarah, her tea and biscuits forgotten. The young girl felt feverish, she was certain her cheeks were in flames. Slowly, Sarah closed her eyes…_

"RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

Her eyes were closed. Her cheeks were rosy. Her heartbeat was faster than normal. But even as she heard the alarm, it beat even faster.  
"Huh?! What? Where…?"

As the seconds passed, the young strawberry blonde became more and more aware of where she was, and what was really going on. Disheartened, she slowly moved her hand towards the snooze button.

* * *

"Please hurry, Sarah! The bus is gonna get here in five minutes!"

"I'm coming, Jimmy…" She said, barely enthusiastic.

It had been about half a month since she found out. And ever since then, she was the last one to arrive to the bus stop. The last one along with Jimmy.

"Did you finish the art homework?"

"We had homework?" Sarah asked, hardly aware of what Jimmy was saying to her.

"Oh, Sarah. You didn't do it?"

The girl didn't reply. Instead, she kept walking to the bus stop. Jimmy just followed her.

* * *

"… Are you guys okay?" Double D bore a worried expression as he saw his two best friends.

"Yeah! Yeah... aah... who's there?!" Eddy replied, as he turned around left and right, his voice seasoned in despair as he heard someone approach.

"Go away! Go away!" Ed yelled as he heard the same noise, his yellow skin turning pale.

Double D understood why the two Eds were behaving so weirdly. Smiling, the beanie boy crossed his arms as he tried to scold his short friend.

"I know you just bought it yesterday, but I told you. Resident Evil 3 is supposed to be very scary. You shouldn't have played this game on Sunday night, now you're both paranoid…"

"I-I'm not paranoid! I heard him! I heard Nemesis right behind there!" Eddy countered, turning around while pointing with his finger...

… Only to be inches close to placing it inside Sarah's nose.

"What are you doing, you retard?!"

"Sarah… phew! It's only you! I thought it was some other disgusting, vicious beast that—"

The uppercut Eddy received might have as well fired up a rocket to the moon. Sarah watched as the short con kept rising and rising, fuming and panting as she felt madder than when she woke up from her dream.

"Sarah? Hi! How are you doing? I hope you're feeling better now."

The young girl turned to see the boy in the beanie hat concerned for her. Remembering how she ditched him, Jimmy, Marie, and that other Kanker, Sarah addressed the boy.

"I am now, Double D. Sorry I worried you on Saturday…"

Double D smiled. "It's fine, Sarah. All that matters is that you're doing well!"

As the object of her affection stretched hands with her best friend, Sarah couldn't help but sigh. _Why, Double D, why do you have to be so… perfect?_

And yet, she was once again interrupted from daydreaming as Eddy fell, cracking the asphalt. The bus driver was used to such scares at Peach Creek's cul de sac, thus he managed to step on the brakes before using the short con artist as a speed bump.

* * *

"I don't get it. How come you know this angle?" The blue headed Kanker asked.

"Here, this is what Double D told me," she said. "See how this line here forms a right triangle inside the big one? We are given the angle beta, and since we already have a ninety degree angle, then we can get the alpha angle by subtracting the beta and ninety from 180. And since this one is similar to the alpha, then the angle we need is equal to 180 minus two times alpha minus beta."

Marie watched as her blonde sister explained the problem to her, still a bit uncertain. "Ookay. I think I got it."

"If you want I can explain it again."

"No, May, don't worry about it. I really understand." Marie smiled to reassure her sister, who smiled back and proceeded to put away her notes.

"Since when did you become such a bookworm?"

May blushed upon hearing her oldest sister's words. Turning to face her, she noted the smirk on her sister's face. The three Kankers shared a laugh.

"Alright class, we've got a lot to cover, so let's start."

As May turned to pay attention, she lowered her gaze but slightly to see the boy sitting at the front. Suddenly she felt like her mind was read as Double D turned his head a bit and grinned at her. May beamed, every thought regarding Geometry forgotten.

"Miss Kanker, could you please read the first problem from the homework and the answer?"

May raised her head, alarmed, then felt an elbow on her side. "That's what you get for making goo goo eyes in the middle of the class!" said her blue haired sister, snickering.

"Actually, I meant to ask for you to do it, Marie."

"Huh?! Um, er, well..."

Both Lee and May laughed at their sister's stammering.

* * *

Her pace was slow. She didn't even grumble as her brother ran by with his idiot friend. But Sarah did hold her breath slightly as the beanie wearing boy got off the school bus and ran past her to catch up to them.

She saw as Eddy slapped Double D's back, the two boys laughing merrily. Even when she despised the short boy, the merriment he was experiencing along with the Sockhead lightened her up a bit. But such a contagious feeling of joy was short-lived as she saw Double D slap Ed's back, and the boy who was her brother hugged him with an arm, in response.

The young strawberry blonde found herself in a rare moment of envy. She kept wondering in her head why she couldn't have been the eldest child of her family. Maybe then she would be able to spend more time with Double D.

"Sarah, are you alright?"

She looked to her side to address the voice that worried over her.

"Yeah... I'm fine, Jimmy. What makes you say that?"

"Your shoulders are hunched, your eyes are half closed, and your mouth is hanging to a side." the frail boy answered, innocently.

Sarah couldn't help but to feel surprised. But then again, it wouldn't be weird that Jimmy, who hung around her so often, would recognize each of her facial expressions and know when she was happy or sad. She started to smile, happy to have him in her life.

"Thanks for noti—"

"Hey! You're walking too slow. Are you feverish?"

Both kids turned around to see the concerned, yet bordering on obnoxious voice who also seemed to care for Sarah's current state. Without warning, Johnny brought a hand up to her face, cupping her forehead with its back. _Now him I don't want in my life!_ Brusquely, she slapped his hand away.

"Who gave you permission to touch me?! Get out of my face, Melonhead!"

Johnny hesitated, but recognized things would go south soon if he decided to stay. "I told you she'd try to hit me, Plank!" he said as he walked towards his house.

 _Great_ , she thought. She'd been feeling crummy for the past two weeks and now her day seemed to be getting even worse. _Why can't that meddlesome, annoying—_

Suddenly, a hand rested on her shoulder. "Forget about that, Sarah. Listen, we have barely any homework assigned. Why don't we meet up later to have a tea party? It will be fun, you'll see!"

Sarah considered what the boy in front of her was saying. She went back to weigh the importance of his friendship to her (and the importance of her own friendship to him) and reasoned in her mind that, for his own good, she would try and be more cheerful. She almost forced a wide smile.

"Sure, Jimmy! We're gonna have so much fun! What do you say I go to your house at five?"

Jimmy grinned. Both of them said their goodbyes and ran to each other's house.

* * *

His pace was a bit rushed, but nonetheless relaxed. Double D stopped at his friend's door, knocking twice. He patted his foot on the ground a couple of times until the door opened.

"Double D?"

"Hello, Sarah! I am looking for Ed, is he—"

"Yeah, yeah. He's here... come in." The young girl rushed to grab his arm and usher him inside. Once in, Double D walked towards the house's basement.

"So what do you need my brother for?"

"Oh, I left my chemistry book here the other day. I was going to ask him to give it to me." He answered her as he opened the door.

Sarah tried to joke around. "Don't you ever do anything else but study?" She closed her mouth the second the words came out, worried Double D might be intimidated by her.

But to her surprise, the beanie wearing boy laughed a bit. "Well actually—my goodness, Ed!"

From the top of the stairs, Double D and Sarah looked at Ed, dressed only in his underwear, getting ready for a sprint. The smartest of the Eds looked, worried, as he noticed the bathtub on the other basement room was filled with gravy. He started to sweat as he noticed his Chemistry book lying by the floor, obviously in the line of fire- or, in this case, gravy splash.

"Ed, wait! You're gonna ruin my book!"

But the thick headed teenager was too engrossed on his pastime.

"Splish splash, I'm takin' a bath!"

Double D ran downstairs, miraculously not tripping while doing so. Sarah followed him along.

"Ed! If you don't stop right now, I'm telling—"

"Look out!" Suddenly, Sarah felt a hand grab her arm and pull her away.

Ed was already airborne by the time she noticed Double D opened an umbrella, crouched down to the floor, and pulled her close to him, protecting his book, himself, and Ed's little sister from the sauce.

Sarah could have sworn she lost her voice for a minute. She was leaning so close to Double D! She felt butterflies in her stomach, and the way he closed his eyes as he tried to protect them both from the gravy made her almost faint from the happiness.

But the splash ended no sooner than it had started, and Double D let go of her and the now soggy umbrella.

"Double D! When did you get here?"

The beanie wearing boy stared at his friend with blank eyes. "Oh. Just a little while ago. Before you were about to wet my book!"

Ed blushed a bit, embarrassed. "Sorry..."

* * *

"So you have to go do homework now?" She asked, as they stepped outside.

"Not really, but—"

Without letting him finish, Sarah spoke again. "You know, I'm on my way to Jimmy's house, to have a little tea party. Since you don't have homework, m-maybe you'd like to come with me?" She said, blushing towards the end.

Double D smiled at her, and for a second the strawberry blonde felt hope that he would say yes. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I don't have homework, but we have a test coming up. I agreed with May that I would meet with her at the library to study. Maybe some other time?"

Her world came crashing down.

Sure, they never really hung out. But she would see him all the time as Double D would often go to Ed's room. She remembered the days she stood outside of the closed basement door, waiting patiently to hear him laugh or talk. She was always there for him, but he would never notice her. She had always dreamed for the day to come when they would be together, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, without a door in between them.

Today, however, that day had never felt further.

"... Sure, Double D. I... I'll see you later." She lowered her gaze as Double D waved goodbye. Once she closed the door, she felt her legs were too weak to hold her, so she just let them be and fell to the floor on her knees.

Tears threatened to fall down her face, but she still had some energy left. Slowly, she stood up and walked towards her bedroom, flopping down face first on the pillow.

 _What does he see in her that he would not find in me?_

As she sobbed, a young boy sighed, wondering where his best friend was and when she would arrive. It was five minutes past five thirty, the tea was cold, and the biscuits were stale.

* * *

 **Notes:** Sorry for the delay. I'm trying to pick it up a bit, and thus I've started publishing again. Please let me know if you would want a story that is short, long, or just moderate.

Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"And then I was cycling down when this dork thought it would be funny to play chicken!" said Kevin, explaining the reason for his bruised cheek, as he glared at the shortest of the group.

"Eh heh heh… sorry, Kevin. You were going kinda slowly anyways…" Eddy tried to defend himself. Kevin started to puff out smoke from his ears.

"Rolf does not understand, Kevin. Why was Eddy dressed as a chicken?"

All the cul de sac kids stared at the son of a shepherd.

"… What do you mean, Rolf…?" Kevin asked cautiously, almost resigning to withstand another fumbling from the blue haired boy due to his lack of knowledge of their culture.

"You said short Ed boy was playing chicken, yes? How else would you play chicken?"

Kevin slapped his face as Eddy intervened. "He means I tried to cross the road as he was driving by. You know, from the joke, why did the chicken cross the road?"

"What is this joke you speak of?" This time, Eddy was left without words.

"Still, you must be careful, Eddy! Why, it's a wonder you came out unhurt, but you mustn't test your luck like that."

"At least I wouldn't have had to come to school today, like lumpy…" Eddy said, envying his tall friend. Since Ed wouldn't reply to his and Double D's knocks to his window they assumed the tallest of the Eds had either fallen sick or overslept due to watching one of his many movies.

But you would also have a boo-boo the size of Nana's left bunion!" Rolf added, to the disgust of the others.

"I'll say! That looks like it won't go away for a week! Why didn't you put a bandaid on it, Kev?"

Kevin blushed but slightly when he heard Nazz address him. "Well I…" But he had no chance to articulate anything else, as his face reddened further when Nazz stuck a bandage on his cheek.

"There! Now it's not as unsightly."

Eddy could hardly hold his laughter as Nazz winked at Kevin and headed inside the school bus that had just arrived. Meanwhile, Double D found it amusing that his best friend didn't seem to be jealous. Eventually, Kevin regained his senses and made his way up the bus stairs along with the guys.

Down the street, a boy ran towards the school bus. In his haste, he landed against the boy known by the whole cul de sac to carry an imaginary friend, much to his denial of it.

"Jimmy? Whatcha in a hurry for, the bus's still here. Couldn't get out of bed?" said Johnny, half teasing him.

"N-No. I come from Sarah's" Jimmy puffed, gasping for air.

"Really? She's kinda late. What gives?" The wood boy asked, his tone a bit friendlier.

"I tried knocking her door, but she didn't answer…" Jimmy said, feeling sorry for her friend while at the same time exuding an air of sadness. And with that, the youngest boy of the cul de sac made his way up the stairs of the school bus.

Johnny two by four stood for a few seconds at the curb, an eyebrow raised. Finally, he breathed out and threw the small flower he had in his hand to the floor. Almost immediately, the smile that was ever present on his face returned as he joined his friends.

* * *

She heard the door open. Even though she couldn't quite recognize it, the smell reminded her of lunch. Sarah opened her eyes slowly.

"Eat up, baby sister! You have to maintain your strength!" The first thing she saw was her stupid big brother carrying a tray with a bowl. She guessed the smell came from there.

"Huh?"

"And I brought you an ice pack for your head!"

"What?"

"Oh! Stay still." Ed said, as he stuck a thermometer inside her mouth. He then stood next to her, waiting for the temperature to manifest, his mouth half open.

Sarah doubted for a second. She brought her own hand to her forehead, touched her cheeks, and cleared her throat. _But I'm not sick…_

"Don't worry, baby sister! Ed's going to take good care of you! Here, open wide!" Ed said as he grabbed a spoonful of the bowl, blew on it, and moved it towards Sarah's mouth.

Finally, the strawberry blonde grew tired of the goofiness of the situation and spat the thermometer to a side. "What the heck, Ed! I'm not sick! And what are you doing in my room so early?!"

"B-But, Sarah! It is ten o' clock! I-I figured since you wouldn't get up this morning to go to school, then maybe you would be sick! I couldn't just leave you alone…"

Sarah opened her eyes wide. She turned to a side to look at her clock. The batteries were dead. She groaned, realizing she overslept and had missed a school day. _So that's why the alarm didn't sound…_

She remembered then. The night before, the young girl had not been able to sleep as she still felt sad about what had happened between Double D and her. Her need for sleep had been replaced by thoughts of the boy she loved, wondering what it is she could have done differently to get closer to him, and what could possibly draw him closer to her.

"At least eat some, Sarah! You will feel lots better, it always makes me feel great!"

She gagged as her brother presented her the spoon of the brown sauce that drove him crazy… or crazier, in her opinion. Sarah almost felt like throwing up right there and then as she remembered the big lug always reused his gravy, and the memory of his dive came back to her mind to haunt her.

"I don't need your garbage! And get out of my room!" As the young girl flapped all of her limbs still lying down on the bed, Ed grabbed his tray of gravy hastily, the boy being already familiar with what would ensue if he stuck around for even a few more seconds.

As the stupid ran, Sarah managed to bop him in the head with the first thing she had at hand. The toy fell to the floor with a squeak.

Sarah looked at what she threw at Ed in her haste. Polly Poo Poo. She got out of bed and walked to her.

As she carried her doll, she absent-mindedly grabbed her by the shoulders and placed her atop the bed, making her walk. Slowly, the strawberry blonde's lips arched upward a bit as she started to smile.

"My, my, what a lovely day!" She squeaked, imitating what she thought would be her doll's voice.

"Why, hello there, Mr. Yum Yum! How are you—" _Mr. Yum Yum…_ The sole thought of the toy she would always play with, along with her beloved doll, made her remember of his owner.

"Jimmy… I owe him an apology…"

Resolute, she walked back to her bed to do it and put on clean clothes. Once she was done, she stepped outside to grab breakfast.

* * *

"Our professor told us we could come up with a topic to present for extra credit, and I thought I could ask you for your help, Double D."

The beanie boy beamed. "Really? That is very intriguing, Jimmy! What did you have in mind?" He said as he turned on his seat to face the young boy.

"Well, I thought we could prepare a representation of the solar system's planets, you know, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune."

"Don't forget Pluto." He smiled.

"Oh, right. That's one of the things I wanted to discuss with you. I mean, it could be silly to just include the planets, right? I thought maybe you could help me with ideas as to what else we could include."

"Well, you're definitely going to need Pluto, that's for sure."

"Hmm, I always thought it was a satellite of Neptune…" Jimmy scratched his head, pensive.

"Actually, Pluto follows its own trajectory around the Sun, but because of its size and distance to it, there are a few arguments in the astronomer community involving a more appropriate classification for it. It's only a few different opinions, though, I wouldn't give them much importance."

"If you say so!" Jimmy smiled.

"Personally, I think—"

"Yeah, yeah, very nice, very important. Ooh! Too nerdy. You can speak to Fluffy later, Sockhead! Get on out, I'm hungry! Mom's making meat loaf tonight!" Eddy teased, as he pushed Double D from the side to hurry him to step out the bus that had just parked at the cul de sac. Once they were out, he ran home.

"…Ok. So when are you going to work on this project?"

"Umm… I wrote my name down along with Sarah's, so I have to set up a time to work on it with her. Can I call you this afternoon?"

"Sure! Let me know."

The two boys said their goodbyes as the older of the two entered his house at the corner.

* * *

He smiled brightly. Now, he didn't have to go knock on her door as they met halfway.

"Sarah!"

"Jimmy!" The girl smiled back, though while still brightly, not nearly as bright as his.

"Are you feeling better?"

This time, Sarah felt like snickering for a bit, and she did. "No, no. I wasn't sick, Jimmy."

"Oh."

"Actually, I overslept." Her face turned to a sadder expression. "Sorry for not coming yesterday, I wasn't feeling well."

"I figured." He shrugged.

"Y-You're not mad?" She asked, a little too remorseful.

"No, why? I know you wouldn't ditch me on purpose, so you must have not been feeling well. I confirmed it when I knocked on your door this morning and you wouldn't answer."

Hearing her best friend's words, she felt a bit worse. Sarah lowered her gaze. "Sorry, Jimmy…"

But in response, the boy smiled again and winked. "Don't worry about it! It's water under the bridge now."

Eventually, the strawberry blonde raised her head. "Ok, if you say so. Well, what did I miss today?"

"Aside from notes? Not much. Except that the science professor is letting us prepare an extra credit project due in a couple of weeks."

"Extra credit? But, Jimmy, you have a 98! You don't need any more A's…"

"That's why I signed us both up for the project. I noticed you haven't been doing so well, so I thought the boost could help you."

Now she felt embarrassed. "Ah ha ha. Well… I can't deny that."

"How about we work on it this afternoon after lunch, at my house?"

Sarah looked at her best friend and smiled. Now more than ever, she had to make up for her absence yesterday. "Of course, Jimmy. I'll be there. I promise."

The boy beamed again and both went on their separate ways to have lunch at their respective homes.

* * *

"Come in, my friend!"

"Thanks, Jimmy." Double D entered his friend's house carrying a huge book under his left arm. As they made their way to the living room, Jimmy pointed to a cushion on the floor. Double D understood it as a signal to sit down. As he did, he noted the remaining two cushions around the center of the room and the myriad of papers placed in the middle, on top of a small table.

"How's Double Bot Jimmy doing?"

"Fine! He's in my room right now. I... my parents asked me to clean it." He said, smiling sheepishly.

"Well, technically it is a Jimmy who is cleaning it." Both boys laughed.

"And how's May doing?"

"Rather busy rehearsing, you know? She's so excited, though, she's got the lead role in the _Alice in Wonderland_ play Peach Creek's presenting at the end of the school year." Double D answered, fondly speaking of his love's current undertakings, which made Jimmy smile.

"That's great! Do you know where I can buy a—Hold on one second, please?" Jimmy walked back to the door as the bell rang again.

"Sarah! You're just in time. Come in!"

"Hi, Jimmy!" Sarah entered her friend's home and both made their way to the living room.

"So what's our project about?"

"The solar system."

"But, Jimmy. I know very little about that..." Sarah said.

"Me too, Sarah. So, I got us a professional."

Sarah felt her mouth drop open as she saw the boy in the beanie hat waving at her from the cushion he was sitting down on.

"D-D-Do-Double Dee?"

"Hello, Sarah! I hope you're doing better now, yes?"

The girl almost face-palmed herself, as she understood the gravity of her absence. "Y-Yeah. Sorry, I only overslept. What-What are you doing here?"

"I just told you." Jimmy said.

"Yeah, Jimmy asked me to help. I had little homework today."

Still, the memory of yesterday made the strawberry blonde hesitant. "Then why aren't you with..."

Misunderstanding her words, Double D assumed she referred to his two pals. "I can do that anytime. I like to hang out with you too, you know?" The boy said, referring to them both.

Sarah couldn't smile any brighter, as his words brought about a second misunderstanding.

* * *

"Okay, are you guys ready?" Double D said, both children sitting to each side of him. Even when his quickness to get to the point made him appear somewhat rude, Sarah could not help but to enjoy how focused in his studies Double D was.

"Yeah. So you said I should include Pluto with the planets, then?"

"Yes. But also, I think you should include other celestial bodies as well."

"Other celestial bodies?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah." In response, Double D grabbed one of the sheets and a pencil and drew what Sarah thought were a bunch of funny circles. Unconsciously, her gaze kept following the traces Double D made with his pencil.

"You see, here are the nine planets and the Sun. But, right in between the Earth and Mars there are several smaller bodies of matter that rotate in a non-definite path around the Sun. These are the asteroids, which form what we know as the Asteroid Belt."

Sarah raised an eyebrow.

"Ooh! Is that where—what's it called—Ceres is?"

Now she raised the other one.

"Correct. It's actually supposed to be the biggest object in the belt."

"Cooool…"

"I know, right?"

"And, are there any other belts in the solar system, Double D?" Jimmy asked.

"Well, actually, there is the Kuiper belt, which is located some distance after Neptune."

"Woow…"

Sarah felt left out, as she had little to contribute to their conversation, slowly, she stood up.

"I think I'm gonna go make some cookies for us, guys…" She said as she walked inside Jimmy's kitchen. As a regular visitor, she knew where the baking utensils were. Her own experience of playing house with Jimmy paid off, as she turned on a small oven and quickly prepared the dough. She then opened a drawer and took out the animal molds and placed several small animal-shaped doughs on a metallic tray. As soon as she deemed it warm enough, she placed the tray inside the oven and walked back.

When she returned to the living room, Double D and Jimmy were studying the illustrations of a huge book. As they were looking at them, Jimmy would take out color pencils to use for each planet.

"Okay, now. This one looks like it could use some brown for the inside, and orange for the outside."

"Mmm. I'm not sure, Double D. Orange could be too light for the ring. I think... maybe some Birch."

"Birch?"

"Yeah, it wouldn't be as vibrant then."

Sarah smiled at the boys. Sure, she loved seeing Double D at work. But the way he would interact with Jimmy made her wonder what they could possibly come up with if they would team up on even bigger tasks. She paid attention to them as she looked at the book.

"Oooh! This one's pretty. Which is it?"

"That's Venus, Sarah. It's the second planet from the Sun." Double D replied.

"Niiice."

"You know, it kinda looks like Sarah. See? Orange. Matches her hair." Jimmy said, as he grabbed a strand of her hair that was touching the illustration.

Sarah felt weird. Jimmy had touched her hair on occasion, but when he did it was always something she expected, such as the times where he helped her with a ribbon or a headband.

"Yeah. And look at this part too. It kind of matches this yellow." said Double D, as he, too, grabbed her hair to place it alongside a color pencil of similar shade. Sarah started to feel red in the face.

"Sarah? Are you feeling ok?" Asked a concerned Jimmy.

Despite being the center of attention for the boys, or more precisely, Double D, Sarah felt the urge to divert their focus, lest she suffer from a heart attack due to all the excitement she felt. She pulled her hair towards herself. "Y-Yeah! I... why don't we continue with the planets... uh, whoa!" She gasped. "Double D. Which one is this one?"

"That's Neptune."

"Why is it so blue...?"

"Because its atmosphere contains methane, which absorbs the red light from the sun, thus emphasizing the blue light."

"Coool. You know," She said as she pointed at her best friend. "It kinda looks like Jimmy, Double D!" She said, attempting to interact more with the boy. Jimmy looked at her and smiled.

"Now that you mention it, the surface does match your shirt a little."

"Isn't it awesome?" said an over-excited Sarah. She beamed when she noticed her words drew a smile on Double D's face.

But she failed to notice Jimmy as he blushed madly.

After a few minutes, the three were done with choosing colors for the planets. Jimmy made notes on a paper as Double D flipped the pages of the book to see if they didn't miss any celestial body. Sarah only had eyes for the Sockhead as she intently looked at him and what he was doing, back and forth.

"I think you have all the important bodies for your project, Jimmy. Now, are you guys going to make a report, or—"

"No, no. I was thinking something big. Like, a Styrofoam model! What do you think, Sarah?"

"Uh? Oh... Styrofoam? Sure, why not." She said, looking away from Double D in a haste.

"And, and maybe it could be even better! Maybe we could build an actual working model! What do you think?"

"That sounds magnificent, Jimmy! How are you planning on doing it?" Double D asked, sort of hopeful he might just be able to invent something for them.

Sarah wanted to show him she could work hard as well. "A-Actually, I think there's a bunch of wire hangers Ed's not going to miss..."

"Then we could make—"Jimmy sniffed. "Do you smell something burning?"

As the other two sniffed, Sarah got a look of shock. "My cookies!" Immediately, she ran to the kitchen.

Once she arrived, she opened the oven's door and a dark smoke came out of it. Hastily, she went on to grab the cookie tray.

"Wait, Sarah! You'll burn yourself!"

She felt a hand grab her wrist, as it moved her own away. Double D put on an oven mitt and removed the tray. All the while, Sarah understood why Marie Kanker would pet call him such a name as it suited him well.

The cookies, in her opinion, were terrible. Only the borders had a golden brown color as the rest went on a gradient from dark brown to pitch black in the center. The bottom of each cookie was dark.

"Sorry..." She mumbled, sad. "How could I forget—"

"Hey. These are good!" Jimmy said, as he munched on one cookie without problems. "See? Only the top got burned."

"Let me see... These came out fantastic, Sarah!" Double D praised her as he too took a bite out of a cookie.

The strawberry blonde, sister of one of his best friends, was teary eyed, blushing, and smiley. She was so happy she had come to Jimmy's house. While she expected to have fun with him, despite working on a project, she wasn't prepared to see the boy who held her heart today. In her mind, she was joyful that without a doubt Double D cared for her. Excited, she entertained possible ideas as to how she could bring out this new part of Double D that she saw, in order for them to be happy.

And yet, as she joined her friends in the eating of cookies, she wouldn't be able to know that the boy in the beanie hat wished for the blonde Kanker he loved so much, given the fact that she wasn't with him at the moment, to be able to be as happy as he felt right now, despite all the hard work she would be going through because of her practice.

* * *

 **Notes:** Please note that Pluto was demoted from planet-hood on August of 2006, but this story takes place around March-April of 2004.

Henceforth and to the end of this story Sarah's behavior is going to follow a pattern of stages, and that's all the clues you guys get!

Please review :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Anyone who would watch her could say her neck was getting tired. Sarah kept looking back and forth at the two boys sitting in front of her, Double D and Jimmy, as she intently listened to their conversation on the seat she was occupying in the school bus.

"And then he got soo red! You should've been there! I can't believe such a silly gesture worked on him so that–Sarah? Saarah?"

Ed's little sister snapped out of her trance. "Huh?"

"You've been spacing out quite a few times this morning. Is everything okay?"

"Um… yeah. Everything's good. Yeah, it's… good…"

Nazz wasn't sure if she could readily believe her, as her doubtful voice indicated something deeper than what she was letting out was occurring. As she turned her head to see where her eyes were focused, she saw the two boys in front of her. The blonde cheerleader wished on the inside for her dear friend to be focused on the smaller of them, for her own good.

* * *

"So when will the Styrofoam balls arrive?"

"I called and requested for them to be sent via expedited shipping, so they should be here by tomorrow!"

"Wow! Then you could really start working–"

"And-and I'll make sure to get the hooks ready by then!" Sarah replied hastily, making herself noticeable as she, Jimmy, and Double D were walking down the school bus's stairs.

"Oh… that's… great!" Said Double D, his voice turning somewhat softer.

Suddenly Sarah felt both eyes from the boy she liked focus towards her. Her breathing became difficult and she could hardly believe what was going on, as she saw the boy in the beanie hat lean down towards the grass to pluck out a flower. _Oh my God, it can't… be…!_

She saw in delightful disbelief how his facial features curved upwards to form a most charming smile, as Double D stood back up and walked her way. Sarah could've sworn that, had she not fainted out of happiness yet, she would soon have. Ed's sister raised her hand slowly to receive the small token of affection…

But she had to stop, as she felt her whole self freeze just as Double D walked past her, flower in hand.

"A flower, for my flower…"

The young strawberry blonde wished she wouldn't have ever turned around. Just as Double D passed her by, she heard the one compliment that was destined for her, that should have been destined for her! be dedicated to another woman.

* * *

"I told you not to watch that horror movie…"

"What could I do? They don't air it often, Mar–"

"Oh! Turn around, turn around, May!" The blue headed Kanker of the group nudged her little sister as she smiled widely, looking past her. Lee Kanker smirked, arms crossed.

"A flower, for my flower…"

"… Lamb chop!"

Double D smiled warmly as he was found out by his love. May dropped the conversation she had with her sister as she wrapped her arms around his neck, while Double D did the same around the small of her back. After their embrace was undone, the boy handed her the object in his hand, an action which made her giggle with mirth.

"Did you just get here?"

"Yeah. We had a bit of traffic along the bus route."

"Never mind that. How have you been?" The blonde Kanker pinched her beloved's nose, getting a laugh out of him, his eyes enjoying the attention he received as they shone, content with what they were seeing.

But if looks could kill… Double D's beloved would have long been buried, as a pair of irises glared at the young blonde in the same manner as laser beams would melt a block of lead.

"I've been… good" Said Double D, blushing, unaware of his other two companions. "I have a small vase in my locker you could use for this, would you care to come with?"

"Of course!"

"Great! Guys, I'll talk to you later. Let me know how that project goes!" Double D said, as he turned around and said goodbye to his two friends.

"Bye, Double D, bye May!" Jimmy replied back, oblivious to the huge trouble that was brewing.

* * *

The young boy completed some more brushing on his painting, whistling a happy tune. His partner, on the other hand, kept staring at the palette she held in her hand. For some reason, Sarah had mixed some of the purple onto the yellow paint, to the point where no trace of it was left, just a dark green.

"I wonder why they had to move here…"

"Pardon?" Jimmy asked, half aware of his friend's rant.

"That Kanker girl… Argh, she gets on my nerves!" she said, as she finally dipped her brush and started to paint.

"Which one, Sarah?"

The girl scoffed. "That blonde one."

"May?" Jimmy asked, to which Ed's little sister scoffed again.

"What's wrong with her being here?"

Upon hearing her friend's words, the strawberry blonde quickly turned her neck to face him. "Don't you see what a bad influence she is on Double D?!"

"B-Bad influence?"

Sarah smirked. Finally he was seeing her point. "Exactly! She's making him lose focus on his studies, and-and hang out less with my stupid brother, all to be with her? Isn't that a bit selfish?!"

Jimmy raised an eyebrow but slightly. "I thought you never liked Double D hanging out with Ed or Eddy..."

Sarah was running out of reasons. "B-But, that's... not the point! I mean, sure they're a bad influence on him, but they have known each other their whole lives! While that girl's only been around for a year, you know?"

Poor Jimmy was between a rock and a hard place. And yet, he had the guts to speak his mind. "I kinda think they make a nice couple, they complement each other in similar ways that I and y—"

"How can you say that?! What kind of best friend are you that you won't side with me?!" Jimmy flinched at Sarah's sudden raise of voice, borderline on screaming. Their classmates turned their heads to look at them in awe.

"S-Sarah?"

The strawberry blonde, her face fierce, stared at her now scared neighbor. She noticed the look in Jimmy's eyes. She noticed the effect of her words on him. Her face gradually lost its ire as she saw her best friend's eyes shine, a well-known fluid threatening to fall. She gulped, and suddenly she didn't recognize herself.

"J… Jimmy…"

The bell rang. School was out. Everyone else seemed to forget the altercation currently occurring as they grabbed their backpacks and made their way to the door, out of the school for the day. Among the crowd of children, Sarah felt like she should apologize to Jimmy. And yet she was well aware that would mean having to drop the issue regarding the boy in the beanie hat.

Finally her instinctual emotions won her over. She ran, Sarah ran away from the classroom she was in, out towards the school exit.

But as she passed the doors, Ed's little sister didn't board her bus home.

* * *

"Tell Rolf again, what is the point of those fuzzy wigs you carry around?"

"Fuzzy wigs?" Kevin intervened, to which Nazz laughed.

"I think Rolf's referring to my pom poms, dude"

"Oh. Should've known"

"I don't know, Rolf, but they make everything flashier."

"Flashier?"

"She means she attracts attention more with them, man, c'mon."

"And..?"

Kevin face-palmed himself. "She's a cheerleader, doofus! She's gotta attract so much attention so our Cobblers win this weekend! And you bet we're gonna floor the Lumpers this time! I've been practicing this long throw catch for which I have to run backward, but it's coming out so great that–"

Just as the cul de sac jock was displaying his move to show off to Rolf and Nazz, but specially to show off to Nazz, he bumped on someone and fell to the floor with him. Once he was down on the floor, Nazz noticed a cyan shirt under his cap wearing friend.

"Oh my God! Jimmy?"

The blonde cheerleader helped the bike boy stand to help the smaller boy under him. Once Rolf and she helped him up, they noticed something on the child.

"Oh boy, Jimmy. Sorry man, I didn't mean to hit you hard…"

He was crying.

While it wasn't such an uncommon occurrence to see him hurt, or scared, or shaky, Nazz noticed in his eyes that whatever it was that made Jimmy cry, was not due to physical pain. The young boy's cheeks were soaked wet, his eyes were red, his mouth shivered, his eyebrows were curved upwards, his frown was wrinkled. When he stood up, Jimmy's shoulders arched inward, and his neck bent down. The frail boy sniffled again and again, as tears fell down to the sidewalk.

In the same manner as that of a big sister, the blonde cheerleader of the cul de sac wrapped her arms around the crying boy.

"What happened, Jimmy? What's troubling you?"

The boy swallowed several times, until he finally gathered enough strength to reply.

"She hates me… she hates me…"

* * *

"You wanna watch _Vampires vs Mummies_ tonight?!"

Eddy raised an eyebrow. _What a weird combo!_ "Let me guess… some straight-to-DVD movie again?"

"The best one I could find!"

The short con sighed as he leaned back on his seat. Suddenly the bus ride back home turned longer than he had expected. He couldn't cancel. To boot it off, none of his teachers had assigned them homework!

"Uh… sure… why not…"

"Great! How 'bout you, Double D?"

"…"

"Double D?" Eddy asked this time, trying to get Sockhead's attention. From where he was sitting, Double D was turning to the back. Following his gaze, Eddy and Ed saw Nazz, Kevin, and Rolf sitting down all the way to the back of the bus. But what seemed puzzling the most was the fact that the blonde was sitting next to Jimmy, with one hand on his shoulder, talking to him intently.

"I wonder what's wrong with Jimmy…"

"You think the squirt failed an exam or something?"

"He wouldn't… He's smart."

"Hmm." Eddy pondered. "What else could make fluffy so sad…?"

It was then that the bigger of the Eds intervened.

"Has anyone seen my baby sister?"

* * *

"Marie!"

"Oops, sorry!" Ever since the boy wearing a beanie hat had given the blonde Kanker a flower in the morning, May Kanker had not left it unattended. Just as the sister trio was eating at the mall restaurant, the blue head of the group had slightly bumped her vase, now on the table.

"C'mon, May. It's just a flower."

"It's not just a flower, Lee. It's…" The girl sighed as she was about to say her beloved's name yet again. Marie and the redhead rolled their eyes.

"Girl, I can endure some romance on TV every now and then, but you're gonna make me puke my lunch if this keeps up. I'm gonna go pay."

While the eldest sister went up to the front to pay for their food, Marie and May stepped in the restroom.

"I don't understand one thing, May. How are they gonna act the part where you're supposed to be small?"

"They're going to use paper so everything looks big."

"You think that's going to look realistic?"

"Trust me, our professor really knows how to draw."

As both sisters stepped out the restroom, they saw their big sister outside, turning her head to look for them. Neither of them realized as they stepped out of the restaurant there was a certain strawberry blonde drinking out of a milkshake. Sarah's gaze pointed to the floor, a thousand thoughts going around her head.

* * *

"C'mon Marie, we gotta go!" Lee called, a little annoyed.

"What? You're the one who's taking so long to look at clothes, I had to read something while we wait!" The girl replied, a magazine in hand, while the youngest of them was actually growing inpatient.

"What'd you want me to do? This one's cute."

Marie stuck out her tongue at the dress her sister was holding. "Figures you'd have such a taste."

As both sisters stared at each other angrily, May decided it was time to leave. "I'm gonna go ahead. I'll catch you guys at home."

Marie saw her little sister leave. Lee just shrugged and turned around to try on the dress. Once the girl finished reading the page, she put down the magazine and stepped out.

* * *

Her head was resting on her hand. Sarah spent some time sitting down on a bench behind the cinema, as she pondered over what had happened that day. Despite having believed earlier on that the feeling she had in her throat was due to thirst, after drinking a chocolate strawberry shake she didn't feel any better. There was something lodged in her throat that she could not pass no matter how hard she tried.

Fed up with her surroundings, Ed's little sister stood up to leave. Her walking was erratic. For a minute she would walk decidedly towards the cul de sac. But the next she would go slowly, and stop for a few seconds. Her resolve was uncertain.

But then, she froze as she exited the mall. In the distance, she saw the one object of her anger and flustering walking freely and happily. May Kanker was crossing the main street around the mall, a smile on her face, and a vase with a small flower on her hands.

Ed's little sister almost lost it right there and then. Sarah felt her breathing accelerate. An uncertain heat was building up on her inside. Little by little, she started to hyperventilate.

 _It's her. It's because of her. This wouldn't have happened if she wasn't around!_

Sarah felt the heat within her become energy. She felt such energy flow towards her limbs, as her legs gained strength. Stretching her hands, clenching her fingers and teeth, the strawberry blonde ran towards the Kanker, to get to her just as the older girl was done crossing the street.

The honking of a car resonated through her ears as she turned her head around too late to notice a green convertible speeding up towards her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Her life flashed before her eyes. Everything seemed to suddenly become bright. Something deep inside Sarah's consciousness told her she had made a terrible, grave mistake.

Suddenly she felt someone pounce on her from behind. As she fell to the ground, now on the other side of the street, the strawberry blonde heard wheels screeching. She closed her eyes tightly…

But to her surprise, aside from a flesh smack that she felt nowhere on her, the screeching of wheels as the car's engine roared back into life and away from where she was, nothing else happened. _I'm… I'm alive?_ A second or two passed by, and Sarah dared open her eyes. She was staring right at grass. Raising her head up from where she was, she realized the blonde Kanker was long gone.

Sarah took a seating position as she brought a hand to her chest. Her heart was beating so fast, not surprising considering the near-death experience she had gone through. But that was not the only thing she perceived.

As the young girl gained control of her senses again, she heard a somewhat forced pant coming from behind her. Slowly, Sarah turned her head around.

"YOU IDIOT! DO YOU EVEN WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING?!"

Sarah had her mouth open wide, her eyes enlarged.

"IF I HADN'T BEEN AROUND YOU'D BE DEAD RIGHT NOW! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CARELESS?!"

Finally the pressure of the moment caught up with her, as Ed's little sister started crying so hard that, despite her usually cold demeanor towards others, Marie Kanker could not help but to put an arm around her in sympathy.

* * *

"Why were you running to cross the street?"

"I… I wanted to hurry up home…" Sarah lied. And yet, despite the assurance of Sarah's intentions, the blue headed girl squinted her eyes, her head wrapped around thoughts of Saturday. There was something about the strawberry blonde that she could not quite comprehend. But, whatever it was, it kept nagging at her, as if it concerned her somehow.

"I see. Well, that's no excuse to behave the way you did. You need to be careful next time, you hear?" She said, stern.

"I know." Sarah said, standing on her feet. "I'm sorry."

"Fine. Go home now, shrimp. Don't let me catch you doing something stu–" Just as Marie followed suit and stood up, she stumbled as she leaned her right foot on the floor. Ed's little sister could have sworn she heard a faint sound that resembled that of a whimper.

"A-Are you okay?"

Her response, curt and hard, dissuaded her from showing her concern any further.

"I'm fine. Just… go home, I'll do the same. Later." The blue head said as she "walked" away.

 _But you're limping_ , Sarah thought inside of her. Even so, she found it incredible that as she walked, the middle Kanker daughter moved at a faster pace than her, until she too disappeared from her sight.

* * *

"One two! One two! And through and through, the vorpal blade went snickersnack! She left it dead, and with its head, she went galumphing back."

"That's… actually real good, sis. But I think maybe that _snickersnack_ could be a little more… I don't know…"

"Emotional? As in, happy, dramatic, harsher?"

"Harsh," Marie snapped her fingers, "that's the word."

"Alrighty then. I'll go read the next act upstairs…"

"How come you're so hung up on practicing so early?"

May blushed. Her blue headed sister could almost recognize the reason why.

"Double D invited me for dinner tonight at seven! And I just know I'm not gonna have time to read tonight… Hey, don't laugh, Marie!"

".. Sorry, can't help it. You're a lost cause, sis."

May just pouted.

"Before you go, um… could you get me a glass of water?"

The young blonde raised an eyebrow. She wasn't certain why when her big sister came home, she favored her right foot a bit. As soon as she got back, she sat down on the couch and rested her right leg. When the blonde tried to ask her if something happened to her, all her sister could say in response was that she tripped, and that a couple hours of rest should suffice for her to feel better. Knowing her strength, May just let her be.

"Sure… with water, or…?"

"Don't get funny with me, dork." Marie said as she snorted. May just giggled as she went to fetch what her sister had asked of her.

* * *

He was growing inpatient. Ed just had to drag him and Eddy to his house to watch some movie his friend had found. The boy in the beanie hat was certain something was going on with Jimmy, but he didn't want to disappoint Ed and leave in the middle of the movie. And yet, boredom was catching up to him! But curse his luck, he had had a good night's sleep and could not be graced with taking a wink just as Eddy was doing so right at that moment, as he was sitting down on the other side of Ed.

"See, the trick was to seal the mummy and vampire on each other's sarcophagi, as they know how to break free from their own, but not the other's" Ed explained, as the main characters managed to seal both creatures away.

"What a… perfect diction, Ed. Don't you ever think you would do much better at school if you spoke like this there?" Double D commented. Assuming, he started to stand up. "Well, it was… an interesting choice, but now that it's over I'm going to–"

Suddenly, a greasy hand from potato chips held him by his shoulders, firmly planting him on the cushion he was seating on. Sockhead gagged.

"Shh shh shh! Here's the best part! The sealing triggered all magic that holds the castle and pyramid unstable, they're crumbling down!" Ed said, excited, as he turned around and slapped his other friend's back. "Eddy! Wake up!"

The poor con almost fell forward, but composed himself and dedicated a dirty look to lumpy. Double D could only sigh again and endure the remaining time of the film.

* * *

Contrary to what she had been instructed, Sarah did not feel like going home just yet. Just as she reached Rethink Avenue, she saw the house of the boy she liked. The strawberry blonde wondered if Double D was there. She wanted to see him so badly, but she knew that in order for her to be with him, as things were meant to be, she needed to get rid of the blonde Kanker that stood in her way.

Still, the young girl acknowledged that a frontal assault could not end up well for her, and she had enough proof of that from the incident she miraculously survived earlier in the afternoon. Pensive, her steps took her down towards the park.

The swing creaked a bit as she sat down and stared at the floor, rocking back and forth but slightly. No matter how hard she thought, nothing would come to her.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?"

A voice coming from above her made her raise her head. Sarah was almost surprised to see Johnny two by four jump down from a tree branch nearby, to fall deftly on his feet on the ground in front of her. The boy sat down, Plank on hand, on the swing next to her.

"You know, I'd rather be by myself right now…"

But the boy would not take a hint. Johnny leaned forward to get closer to Sarah. "Why? You know, if you have a problem, I can help you. I'd always help you… hee hee." The boy said, half blushing, half laughing.

An idea crossed Sarah's mind.

"You would, Johnny?"

"Yeah, I would!"

"You'd do anything for me?"

"Sure!"

The strawberry blonde smirked. She turned around to face the wood boy.

"Well, here's what's happening: There is a mean blonde that's getting close to one of my… friends… and I don't like that she is. I wanna get her away from him. Can you help me?" Sarah asked, as she batted her eyes.

Johnny smiled goofily as he nodded back and forth. "You'll see! I'm gonna scare that girl so good she won't wanna get close to you or any of your friends! Where's she at?"

"Oh, she's at the trailer park next door."

"Then what're we waiting for?" The boy replied, overly enthusiastic, as he marched towards the Park n' Flush trailer park, a young strawberry blonde following close behind, rubbing her hands as she could savor the taste of victory.

* * *

She was bored. Since her older sister had gone out to Mom's office work and her younger sister was busy doing her hair, Marie Kanker opted for sitting down on her usual spot to watch the sunset. And yet, despite it being five minutes to six, she was too early. Standing up, the girl tested her footing. Once she was satisfied, she walked around the small group of trees which separated her home from the park.

Half way along, Marie stopped her walking as she saw two figures walking her way. As they got closer, she raised an eyebrow as she noticed the strawberry blonde she saw earlier walking towards their home, trailing behind the odd looking boy from the cul de sac. _What are they up to?_

Sarah was so focused on how scared May would become that she didn't notice the person who stood up in front of her and Johnny, until her voice snapped her out of her wishful thinking.

"I thought I told you to go home, pint-size."

Ed's sister had not expected to find the girl who had saved her life. She had not counted that, despite her mellowing out due to Double D's company, May was still a Kanker, and going against her would also mean having to face her sisters. _Damn, I should've–_

"Get out of the way, blue! I have a mission to accomplish and will stop at nothing to do so!"

Sarah was surprised as she heard Johnny's words. Noting his resolve, the girl smirked again. _Now, what're you gonna do, Marie?_

And yet, despite the threat coming from the boy who was helping her, Marie Kanker could not help but to laugh at them.

"Are you serious? Or are you just trying to entertain me?"

"I'm very serious! And if you don't back off now, I'll–"

Suddenly both children were flabbergasted as Marie used her left foot to roll a thick, broken log on the floor, send it up as she raised her leg, and crush it to pieces with a single hit from her hand.

"Now, what should I do to that feeble piece of fence you have on your arm?"

All of the bravery the wood boy had displayed vanished in an instant. Screaming, Johnny covered Plank with both of his arms as he ran away. Sarah, though mad that things weren't going her way, could not bring herself up to blame the boy. Marie had displayed amazing strength… but what surprised her the most was that in order to raise the log, the blue head needed to lean her whole body weight on her right leg, which she had damaged three hours ago.

"I-I thought you were hurt."

"And I said I was fine. Now, are you gonna tell me why you're after my sister?"

Sarah widened her eyes in further surprise.

"But how did–"

"What, you think I'm stupid or something? You've been rather weird since Saturday. I never did really do anything to you, but May on the other hand…"

Sarah scoffed, "What are you getting at?"

"C'mon, Sarah. Quit faking it. You know what I'm talking about."

But the strawberry blonde just lowered her gaze a bit and said nothing.

"Hmph. You can't possibly be that stubborn. Go home, kid. But don't show up here again or I'll have no mercy."

Marie turned around, but just as she was walking away, Sarah decided to speak her mind, in the form of screams.

"Your sister has no right in doing what she did! She's Swaying Double D away! She's taken him from me… she's taken him from you!"

Upon hearing her words, Marie stopped.

"Don't you see? His place is not with her… it's… with me…" Sarah explained. Desperate, she resorted to the one offer she knew the Kanker could not refuse "… with us…"

"Don't you want things to go back the way they were? After all, He was yours too." The strawberry blonde said, her tone alluring. "We deserve Double D more than your sister does. I could share Double D with you… he could love you…"

Marie turned around. Sarah didn't know what to expect, but she rejoiced as she noticed Marie's face soon took on a dark expression, accompanied with a smirk.

"Fine. I'll help you out. If that's what'll let me be with him again…"

Sarah felt overjoyed. Finally, everything was falling into place. The boy of her dreams was soon going to be hers.

* * *

 **Notes:** The words May recites to Marie are from the _Alice in Wonderland_ play compiled by Jeff Bengford. You can find them on a quick google search under the words "Alice in Wonderland script"

Please review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Here's what you're gonna do: Go back home and wait. Around six fifty five, head out to our Dreamboat's house. You should be able to talk to him!"

Sarah, assured that her newfound ally had her best interests at heart, thanked Marie and walked back to the cul de sac.

As she reached her home, she went to her door and went inside, anxious for time to fly by as she neglected to realize someone was watching her.

* * *

He sighed for the umpteenth time since he and his parents had arrived home. A lonesome boy in a cyan shirt sat down, an elbow against the frame of the window of his room. Jimmy was crestfallen, contrary to what his demeanor should be, after having endured his last visit to the dentist (or at least his last one for a long time) as his brackets had finally been removed. His head kept going back to the talk he had had with Nazz earlier in the afternoon. Or more precisely, a talk he had received from the cheerleader blonde, as the child had opted for only listening to the advice she gave him.

Jimmy couldn't understand why Nazz had talked about issues which girls Sarah's age would go through. He believed he knew her well enough to understand her behavior. But, after her lashing out to him over Double D's lady friend, he was confused as to why Sarah would be having an issue with her. Or, worse yet, why the behavior of he who the boy considered his best male friend and his blonde partner affected her way of possibly thinking about how he himself treated the strawberry blonde. _Maybe Sarah is jealous that May gets so much attention from Double D and I don't do the same for her…_

Suddenly his train of thought wrecked aside as his heart skipped a beat. Jimmy widened his eyes as he saw Sarah walk, in a hurry, towards her house. The boy noticed her dear friend's face looked inpatient, and he couldn't help but to feel concern for her, despite the argument the two had.

 _Maybe… maybe I can go to her house and try to talk things through with her…_

The boy felt hopeful, a feeling which raised his low spirits. After he put on sneakers and combed his hair, he walked towards his drawer to get his keys…

… When he noticed out of the window, that Sarah was walking away just as fast as she had arrived. Jimmy could not help but to sigh again.

 _Where could she possibly be going? It's almost seven…_

* * *

As the strawberry blonde walked to the mouth of the cul de sac in a hurry, she bore a big smile on her face. She felt closer than ever to achieving her dream of getting close to her beloved. Step after step, Sarah was almost hyperventilating with anticipation. As she was reaching the beanie hat wearing boy's house, she slowed down.

She stopped for a second to ponder over what to do. _What will happen after I knock on his door? Maybe he'll be expecting me? Oh! I can insist on spending some time with him, then maybe we could talk about our feelings, and then –_

Sarah froze yet again. In the distance, she noticed someone approaching. Her fears were becoming true as she started to make out the shape of the one person she wanted to see the least. And yet, Ed's sister did not wonder why she wasn't feeling angry, but rather an inexplicable feeling of wanting to make herself scarce. Thinking quickly, Sarah hid behind the bushes that divided Sockhead's house with Rolf's.

 _What is May doing here?! Marie didn't warn me about this!_ The young strawberry blonde was at a loss for what to do. A new player in her game would complicate things for her to approach Double D. _Wait! I get it now! Maybe Marie wants me to confront May and doing so will let Double D see who she really is, and he'll want to be with me! It's genius! I gotta go–_

But, despite having her conflicts resolved, Sarah was unable to act as the house door opened.

"Double D!"

"May! I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

Sarah felt her heart crack as she saw the two teenagers hug. For a second, Ed's little sister felt envious of the blonde who now held her man…

… But she couldn't understand how she felt about the boy wrapping the blonde around her arms tightly, as he closed his eyes, his face depicting a need to regale her with love as well as to make the Kanker feel secure. When the embrace finished, both teens glanced at each other, their foreheads touching.

"So how did acting go today?"

"It was… simply amazing…" May sighed as she spoke to her love.

"Of course it was, anything you do is amazing…"

Sarah had her mouth wide open as she heard the huge compliment her beloved had dedicated to her nemesis, just as the blonde giggled in merriment and rubbed her nose against his.

"Oh, you! Maybe it was because I was thinking of you the whole time…"

This time, the strawberry blonde noticed Double D blush deeply. Nothing she had ever said to him had made him react in such a way!

"I… I have no words to say, my sweet…" His words felt like nails piercing her chest.

"Really? This coming from the smartest boy in the world?"

His voice, soft and sweet, made the blonde blush to a similar shade. "To you I owe that despite any knowledge I possess, I become a fool, but a happy fool nonetheless, for I have your heart in my grasp…"

Sarah felt a lump on her throat. Her vision was blurring, but not fast enough that she had the misfortune to see the boy she loved close his eyes and lock his lips with the girl she had in front of him as she did the same. The game had developed to a point where Sarah could do nothing to turn the tables in her favor. Little by little, the child took some steps back.

Realizing her defeat, the strawberry blonde turned around and ran. She felt her tears wet her face as the inertia caused by her speed pushed them back. She brought a hand to her face to rub her eyes…

… When she collided with what she thought would be a person. The force of the hit sent her down to the sidewalk on her behind. Raising her head, Sarah noticed the face of the person she stumbled upon. Marie Kanker was staring down at her, her frown wrinkled upwards slightly, as she dedicated her a look of concern. Softly, the blue headed teen addressed the much smaller girl.

"You get it now? You saw what happened back there…"

But despite the dramatic silence that ensued, Sarah had no response for the girl, other than lowering her head.

"Sarah?"

"You lied to me…" came her voice, soft and barely audible, as the hurt within her words was most palpable.

Marie sighed softly, blinking slowly. "I had to do what I thought was right…"

Anger ensued, as the strawberry blonde quickly raised her head and yelled at the teen. "How dare you do this?! You know how much I love Double D, but now thanks to you, I've lost him! I've lost him!"

But even that was not enough to make the Kanker flinch. Ironic, Marie defied her. "You lost him? Tell me, kid, did you ever have him?"

Sarah was ready to keep the struggle going on, but all logic invaded her upon hearing the rather collected words from the blue head, who sat down on the curb next to her.

"I was like you… not too long ago, actually. I had developed this idea that, Double D was mine. And in fact, given that I would always terrorize him and seek him out the most for the past year, I was very well the one girl out of our neighborhood that could actually claim him. But when Valentine's Day came around, I started noticing that the world did not revolve around my own feelings, but I hardly gave it a thought. Shortly after, the fuzz that happened during the fourteenth was happening again, and Double D showed less and less concern, if even, towards me, and started favoring my sister."

"You should've seen me. I was hysterical. I felt cheated. I was so angry that I treated May like garbage, and made her suffer because of my selfishness in wanting to hog Double D to myself. And, here's the worst part: While hurting her, I was deceiving myself, and in reality I was also hurting Double D. You remember why he missed school for a few days, right? He was too depressed because he couldn't be with May…"

The effect of such words on Sarah was like a bucket of cold water, as the strawberry blonde was left speechless.

"I made so many mistakes while trying to impose my will on others. But even then, May and Double D forgave me. They're both so nice to me… but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Sarah, you are but a step away from being as ruthless as I was. Look at yourself. I know how you feel about the Melon head, so why have you stooped so low to coax help from him?"

Sarah felt her mouth tremble. That was the last thing she needed at the moment, to be scolded by a Kanker, no less.

"I know it may seem that way, but you need to understand. This is not the way things are supposed to be. Double D is happy with someone else. I know how easy it is to confuse the well-deserved respect and friendliness he inspires on others for something else, but you must come to your senses, Sarah. Realize that your path in life and his are, though close to each other, not connected in the way you want them to be. All along, you were meant to just be his friend…"

Finally, the small girl stood up from the position she was on the floor. Her head ever lowered, she spoke softly, and with a cracked voice.

"Are you done?"

"… Yeah…"

"You think it's so easy to just come here and spew out a few words to make me change my mind, when you don't know me at all!" Sarah, though her tone still low, was letting despair overtake her at a fast rate. "I'm not like you, Marie! I have feelings! I can't simply cast aside what I feel for Double D! Don't you get it? I love him! I am in love with him, and that's all I know! But now your sister has stolen him from me and I can't do anything about it since people like you are against me being with him!"

Marie heard how Sarah's screams would transform into whimpers, as her voice was losing all her strength to instead let her pain out. "You don't understand, Sarah. This isn't rig–"

But the blue head could not continue to talk, as the strawberry blonde found strength out of nowhere to run away towards her home, to find some solace on her bed, as she made her way inside, unseen by anyone.

The middle Kanker slapped herself on her forehead, as she covered her own eyes with her attacking hand.

"I tried…"

* * *

 **Notes:** Now would be the time for the fourth stage...


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Cheer up, Jimmy. I'm sure that whatever problem it is you may have with Sarah can be fixed."

Despite his beanie wearing friend's words, the young boy could only sigh as he kept his gaze lowered.

"I am afraid I have little knowledge regarding these kinds of situations, but maybe we could consult someone more appropriate… how about Nazz?"

"… She talked to me already. Something about Sarah going through natural problems at her age."

"Mmm," Double D thought. "Then how about May? I'm sure there's something she can say that–"

Upon hearing his friend's mentioning of his girlfriend, Jimmy reacted warily. "No! I–Sorry, Double D… To be honest with you, May is the reason why we had that argument yesterday…"

Double D was intrigued by that piece of information. _How would a problem between Sarah and Jimmy possibly involve May?_ The more he thought about it, the more confused he was, as he was aware it was really rare to see his beloved and Ed's little sister together, let alone interact with each other.

"Really? I don't understand…"

"I feel the same way. I can't begin to even make sense of it. Is she… jealous of all the attention she receives while…" And this, he said while he started to blush, "… nobody behaves around her the way you do with May?"

Double D was moved to see his young friend so worried for his best friend. Concerned, he too wanted to get to the bottom of the situation. "Maybe I should try having a talk with Sarah…"

"But she didn't come today, Double D." Said Jimmy, entertaining the idea of what they could accomplish if Double D talked with the strawberry blonde.

"I know… I fear that since Ed is not present either, Sarah might be sick and he is looking after her…"

Jimmy could only lower his gaze again as he immersed himself in his enormous worry over the girl he liked. Double D understood how he felt and put an arm around him companionably as they walked inside school grounds.

"There, Jimmy. We will figure out what's going on, don't fret."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want any gravy, Sarah?" He asked, worried, from her doorstep.

But no answer came. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Ed was mortified. Finally, he dared open his baby sister's door and entered.

Everything seemed to be in order, save for the body that lay on the bed completely covered by sheets, despite it being ten minutes past eleven in the morning.

"Sarah?"

Relief came to Ed as he heard sniffling from inside the sheets. Carefully, the big guy lifted them…

… To reveal a vision of hopelessness. Sarah was lying on the bed on a side. Her hair was a mess. Her eyes were barely open. Both of them looked swollen. Her nose was red. Her breathing was difficult. Hurt by what he was seeing, the boy grabbed her sister's face by the cheeks and rolled her head to face him.

"What's wrong with you, little sister?"

Weakly, Sarah opened her eyes halfway. She could hardly make out what or who was it that addressed her. Her mind, torturing her, turned back to the time of last night, when she realized that, not matter how hard she would try, she couldn't break the bond between her love and the blonde Kanker.

Ed became more desperate as he saw tears starting to fill up inside Sarah's eyes. Soon enough, these fell down to the side of each. In a rare act of cleanliness, Ed quickly grabbed a couple of tissues from her dresser and wiped her face.

"It's going to be alright, baby sister. Whatever it is, it's going to be alright…"

 _No, it won't be_ … She couldn't help but to think to herself.

* * *

"Quit it with the long face, Sockhead. You didn't pick a fight with the blondie, did you?"

Double D shook his head. God forbid. "N-No, Eddy…"

"Then what's eating ya? By the way, you gonna eat that leg?" Eddy asked, signaling his lunch, now cold.

Double D snorted as he pushed his tray towards his friend. "Knock yourself out."

After a good munch, Eddy insisted. "If you're doing so well with May, then what problem do you have now?"

"Well, you see. I'm concerned about Sarah. She's had an argument with Jimmy and we don't know why. Though now that you mention it, Jimmy said it was related to May somehow."

"Double D, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The beanie boy turned around to see the girl who used to haunt him. "Hey, Marie. If you'll excuse me, Eddy."

"Sure."

As he saw both teens walk away, Eddy processed his friend's words. "Hmm…" Suddenly, he clicked his fingers as he laughed. "Sockhead's so oblivious…"

* * *

Both of them stopped outside of the cafeteria.

"How are you doing with May?"

"Everything is going great, you know? I'm happy she's doing so well."

Marie smiled. "Good to hear. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about someone else."

"Someone else?"

Marie and he sat down on a bench. "Tell me, have you seen anything strange happen when you go to Ed's house?"

"Ed's house? No, not really. Does this have to do with Sarah? "

Marie was surprised. "How did you know?"

"Well, she's been having problems with Jimmy."

Marie was surprised, and somewhat angry to hear what the strawberry blonde's actions were causing. "That girl…"

"I was hoping to go to their house and talk to her once we get back from sc–"

All of a sudden, Marie put two fingers on top of Double D's lips. "No. Please, Double D. Whatever you do, don't talk to her."

Double D was puzzled at his friend's insistence. Slowly, he grabbed her wrist and lowered her hand away. "Why do you ask me that?"

"I wanted to ask you what could be done to try and help her, but I never knew her problems went as deep as hurting the shorty. For her sake, she has to understand what's happening and solve her own problems herself. If you go talk to her right now, you're only gonna make her suffer."

This time, Double D was not surprised, but worried about Marie's firm resolution of what would happen were he to meet Ed's sister. "Why?"

Marie couldn't raise one of her eyebrows any higher. "You really don't know? You've lived around Ed and her for so long and you don't have a clue?"

Double D could only shake his head slowly.

"Just… do me that favor. Don't get close to Sarah for the next couple of days or so, until she gets her life together."

"But Marie, you seem to know something that I don't"

The girl was actually getting desperate. "Just do what I say! Please, Double D!"

The beanie boy widened his eyes. "Marie, I…"

Not knowing if her strategy was working or not, the blue head took a more menacing tone. "If you don't do as I say, I'll beat you up right now!"

Instinctively, Sockhead started bringing his arms forward to protect himself. "Y-You will?"

Seeing the boy she once loved, now only a good friend, so helpless, Marie had to desist. "I won't…"

Upon hearing her words, Double D lowered his arms in relief. Big mistake.

"But I can still do this!" Marie quickly pulled Double D by his shirt and wrapped an arm around his neck, while she used the hand on her other arm to apply a noogie.

"Ah! Ow, Marie… Ow! Please, cease with the… ow!"

The girl stopped, and smirked as she stood up. "If you don't want any more of that, you'll do as I say…" And with that, the blue headed Kanker made her way away from the boy to resume her lunch hour activities. Double D was too confused to follow her, and he was a bit busy rubbing his noggin.

* * *

She knocked on the door hesitantly.

"Not that I… mind, but why do I have to be here again?" Asked a mildly bored Kevin.

"You're damage control, Kev"

"Oh… I can do that." The cap wearing boy puffed his chest to impress his friend, but Nazz was too busy looking at the door in worry. "But… damage from what?"

"Well, she is as strong as Ed… so, just in case"

"Ah… no problem" He said, but Kevin wouldn't admit the slight worry nagging at his insides. Suddenly, the door started to open.

"… Yes?"

"Ed? Hi. We came to see your sister. Can we come in?"

And yet, despite such a simple request, the tallest of the Eds remained pensive. "Baby sister's not feeling well, Nazz…" His words made the blonde cheerleader gasp.

"What? Is she sick, Ed? What's–How bad is it?"

Ed was too worried over his sister that he couldn't say one more word, just stand in place, unsure of what to do. Nazz moved inside under his arm as Ed gave him a slight shove, in a rather serious tone.

"Move it, lumpy…"

* * *

Her breathing bothered her. The mere sight of her chest rising and lowering put her on edge. Her senses heightened, the strawberry blonde had not been able to rest the whole day, despite having spent it on bed.

She didn't want to be awake. Her mind wouldn't leave her alone. Turning her head, she stared at her window. The rectangular frame, along with the low light coming from the outside, gave the window the appearance to a portal towards a new world…

… A world with no suffering, no regrets, no heartbreaks. A world where she wouldn't be reminded of the love between her beloved and the blonde Kanker, the love that shattered her heart to pieces.

Doubtful, she turned her head back to look at the ceiling. _Maybe if I get comfortable…_

Sarah readjusted her pillow to try to succumb to slumber. As she closed her eyes, she moved her shoulders to adjust her position on the bed. Everything seemed to go well, until one of her shoulders touched the pillow corner.

Her mind flashed back to a few days ago, to the time when she was protected by the beanie wearing boy, from the gravy wave. The one moment she wished could last forever, right next to Double D's chest, had ended as quickly as it started. And in the same way, her flashback ended, not leaving her room to rejoice over a simple memory of her own enjoyment, making her feel even more tormented than before.

Her eyes stung once again, as tears struggled to develop in them. Annoyed that she couldn't even do a simple thing such as crying, Ed's little sister opted for standing up. As she looked to the front, her vision deviated once more to register a change in her environment.

Apparently, the light from the post outside was failing. The flicker of it made the window frame look as if it beckoned her. Sarah stared at it intently. The idea of a new world regaled her with the possibility of an escape. The portal started to become bigger and brighter…

"OH MY GOD, SARAH! WHAT-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

… It was only then that Sarah realized she had been moving. Looking down, she saw a wooden floor flickering. The strawberry blonde could hardly feel someone grab both of her legs in a hurry as her whole body dropped to the bedroom floor.

* * *

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU COULD'VE KILLED YOURSELF, SARAH!"

A blonde she knew rather well addressed her. She looked at Nazz, who was red in the face. Her eyes were glassy and wide. As she turned around, she noticed someone kneeling down next to her, panting.

"Yeah, listen to her, runt. You really have a death wish or something?" Kevin's words made sense. "What would've happened if we had come in the room one more second later? Why do you have to be so stupid som–"

"I… I think…"

Kevin quieted down as he, Nazz, and Ed looked at Sarah more intently. "What… What did you say, little sister?"

"I… have a d–"

But she couldn't finish talking, as Nazz tackled her to the floor, hugging her.

"You can't! Don't even say it! God, oh God, why, Sarah? What's happened to you that you're behaving like this? What's hurting?"

But Sarah had no words to give. Even though her eyes were almost dry, her throat felt lumpy.

"You-You don't have to explain if you don't want to… but please don't ever think about what you almost did! Sarah, we're your friends, we worry about you… we love you so much, so you don't have to feel alone, okay? You understand me?"

The strawberry blonde said nothing, but she finally leaned back on Nazz's chest. The blonde could feel her small body shaking.

"She-She won, Nazz…"

"Won? Who…?"

"That Kanker… beat me to him…"

Realizing what she meant, Kevin spoke. "You mean May and D–"

–But was quickly silenced as Nazz brought a finger to her mouth. "Oh, Sarah. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

The blonde felt her heart crack a bit, as for the first time since she arrived, Sarah wailed. All she could do was caress her hair and utter soft, soothing noises.

* * *

"She didn't come again today…"

"I know," He said, as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jimmy"

"I don't see Ed either. You think...?"

"He must be taking care of her. Goodness, I hope it's not too serious..."

"... It kind of is."

Both boys turned around to see the voice who addressed them.

"Have you seen Sarah, Nazz?"

"How is she?" Jimmy rushed to stand in front of the blonde, almost going as far as to grab her by the arms in worry.

Nazz stole a glance at Double D, who looked almost as worried as Jimmy. But alas, she knew the boy was concerned over her best girl friend merely because of what Sarah was to him, a good friend. She didn't want to add more salt to her wounds.

"She's really sick, guys... Ed's taking care of her, but... she's... still very sick. I... just hope what she has is not... um, contagious..."

Double D said no words, just processed what Nazz just told them. But Jimmy looked miserable. He was too concerned for the little girl's well-being.

"So we can't visit her...?"

 _We_. She frowned as she felt her eyes water and a stab in her heart. "I... you should give her a couple of days... u-until she feels better, Jimmy..."

The school bus arrived to the cul de sac. Nazz took the chance to quickly get inside. Now that all they could see was her back, neither of the boys could notice the tears falling from the cheerleader's face.

 _I'm so sorry..._

* * *

"I told you already... I'm full..."

"But you only had a bite..."

"... I had to. You shoved the sub on my face!" She raised her voice.

"Sorry, sorry, little sis. I'll get you some water..." Ed said, as he rushed out of Sarah's room to the kitchen.

In the distance, Sarah could hear the tap being opened and a glass filled with haste. As soon as it closed, she heard stomping of feet, as Ed was walking back to her. Suddenly, she heard the distinguishable sound of glass shattering.

She could almost feel the despair in Ed as he rushed to sweep the pieces. When that was done, she heard the tap being opened again.

She pondered on her life for a moment. Double D wouldn't return her feelings. But last night, she realized she wasn't alone. Nazz cared so much for her, she actually felt safe around her. But seeing how Ed fumbled to make her feel comfortable made Sarah mope yet again. Despite the smelly, dumb brother that he was, she couldn't help but to feel remorse as she sighed. She turned her head. _Why, he even made me a sandwich...!_

Ed entered Sarah's room hastily, but the strawberry blonde was facing away from him.

"I brought you some water, baby sis..."

Suddenly, Ed's lips curled up into a smile. The sub had two teeth marks now.

"Do you want to go outside in a little bit, Sarah?"

* * *

Somehow, she wasn't grossed out.

Ed was piggy-back carrying Sarah to the park. The boy was sure some fresh air would help her feel better. Sarah felt weirdly relaxed as she could see so many shades of green under a noon sun.

Steadily, the tallest of the Eds set up his younger sibling on a swing, as he sat on the other. Sarah rocked back and forth but slightly due to her landing, while Ed started pushing himself back and forth. The boy, caught up in the thrill, started to smile. Sarah on the other hand, looked at the floor. While she didn't feel as broken as the day before, she was still sort of pensive

"Ed? Do you think I'll be an ugly old maid?"

Ed planted his feet to stop his moving. After thinking for a second, he answered, "Aunt lives alone Sarah. She's ugly." And he shuddered. Sarah felt a little disappointed at the future that awaited her.

"But she's not a bad person. And I know neither are you."

The strawberry blonde's eyes widened. Ed could have sworn Sarah was shuddering due to remembering their aunt, but he could not explain why she brought her hands to her face to cover her eyes.

"You're a big dummy sometimes, you know? But... thanks... thanks for putting up with me, big brother..."

Ed's smile may have as well overshadowed the sun. A sudden breeze made his little sister bring her hands to her arms.

"You must be cold... Wait here, I'll bring you a sweater..." And with that, Ed ran off back home. Sarah felt worse about herself for having treated her big brother the way she did for so long, and yet she felt lucky that despite it all, Ed still looked after her, he was still there for her.

A rustle of leaves warned her of someone's presence. "That was fast, Ed, you didn't have to run back he–"

But, as she turned around, she surprised herself upon seeing who was standing close to her.

"J-J...?"

* * *

 **Notes:** I'm sorry for not posting in such a while. I really need to manage my time better. Sarah's still on the 4th stage


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"J-Johnny?"

"Hi Sarah, how you doin'?" The wood boy greeted the girl with a smile and sat down on the swing next to her.

"You're looking a lot better."

"Why aren't you in school?"

"I... overheard what Nazz said. About you being sick, and I thought I'd pay a visit."

Sarah understood now. Nazz was thoughtful enough to try and give her some space. "Really now."

"You don't look really sick there, what gives?"

As per usual, Johnny two by four stood uncomfortably closer to her. Instinctively, Sarah backed away a bit, an act that the boy noticed.

Frowning, Johnny tried to salvage the situation. "Look, Sarah. I know that I'm not the most charming, or thoughtful guy ever, but I meant every word of what I told you the other day, you know?"

She stayed quiet for a bit, until she remembered the confrontation she had with Marie, and how Johnny was brave enough to stand up to the Kanker, all for her.

"I... You do?"

"Yeah." This time he looked at her in the eyes. "I do. I really like you, Sarah. I know I may not show it, but I worried about you this whole time. I want you to be happy, and I know I can make you happy. Won't you... want to go out with me sometime?"

Sarah was speechless. Sure, Johnny had bothered her time and time again about wanting to be with her, but this time... this time he somehow looked serious. The look she saw in his eyes, the shine in his eyes, reminded her of one and only one thing.

Such as look was like the ones she dedicated to Double D when he didn't look at her...

 _Double D_ … She found herself looking at the sky. It still hurt her to think that, after how long she had known him, a girl would just waltz into their lives and appropriate his heart. But she couldn't do anything about it. She had lost, and May won.

But why she won, now that was the matter Ed's sister had in mind. She remembered the kiss Double D and May shared. While it did hurt her, there was one thing Sarah had to admit: Double D was actually happy.

"Sarah?"

"Oh… Sorry, Johnny."

"No problem. I was saying…"

"No…" She sighed. "I mean, I'm sorry. But I can't return your feelings… There's someone else I like, but I'm not sure if he likes me back…"

"Oh…" Johnny said, visibly disappointed, as he looked to the floor.

"Look, I'm sorry if it upsets you, but I can't lie to myself. I know we haven't spoken to each other much…" And this time, she remembered her big brother's words, "but you're not a bad person. You mean well, although sometimes you might be a bit blunt…"

Silence.

"But I-I I'm just one girl, Johnny" Sarah struggled with her words. She had never comforted anyone before. "I'm sure somewhere out there… there's someone for you…" She felt weird. She didn't know who needed her advice the most.

Silence ensued, as Johnny seemed pensive. Sarah felt horrible, having not only managed to upset her friends with her behavior in the past days, but also to upset the boy next to her, who only had her best interests at heart.

"Plank's wondering if you're gonna be alright…"

"Me? But what about y–"

"He says if you think you'd be alright with that boy you like."

"What? I…"

This time, Johnny didn't bother with repeating his wood friend's words, but rather turned back to face Sarah, dead serious. "Would you be happy with that guy by your side?"

Sarah blushed. There was nothing else for her to do to take back the smartest of the Eds. But she reasoned that dreaming would never hurt anyone.

"Y-Yeah… I would. I really would, Johnny…" She said to the boy as she frowned.

But instead of sympathizing with her, Johnny smiled brightly.

"That's all I needed to hear." He stood up. "Well, he does know you better than I do. I'm sure he's gonna make you so happy…"

The girl sighed again. _If only he knew_ … "But Johnny, Double–"

"Man, that Jimmy sure is lucky!" Johnny laughed, as he scratched his head. "Goodbye, Sarah!" And with that, he ran, Plank in hand. Away from her, and away from the park.

* * *

"Whoa!" The tallest of the Eds had just bumped against someone as he turned the corner.

"Oh man... Sorry, Ed."

"Ha, ha! No problem, Johnny!"

Ed waved goodbye to the plank boy, who kept running towards his own home. Once he was out of sight, Ed made his way to the park. _Sarah's going to like wearing her cyan jacket!_

The boy stepped happily towards the swings, content that he was reuniting with his sister. "I brought you the new one, Sarah! Sarah?"

Ed did not expect to see his baby sister with wide eyes, flabbergasted. Concerned, he waved his hand in front of her face.

"Sarah? Sarah? Are you feelin' ok?"

Sarah would not utter a word, lost in her thoughts. He was growing desperate, and was about to say something else, until he noticed the strawberry blonde's mouth closed. She frowned to the point where her forehead filled itself with creases. The girl's eyes started to fill with tears.

It almost came as no surprise to Ed when the youngest girl in the cul de sac started crying. But what surprised him was her sudden jump to his arms. Sarah held onto Ed tightly, as she once again wailed in sorrow. Ed had lost count of how many times she had in the past two days.

* * *

Once she was more serene, Ed tried to do his work as big brother and find out what happened.

"Are you sure Johnny didn't do anything to you?"

"No..."

"Was it Plank, then?"

"... No, Ed."

"Then was it–"

"Not a squirrel, either" Sarah said, as she followed her brother's gaze.

"Then what happened?"

Sarah swallowed the lump in her throat with difficulty as she stood up.

"Sarah?"

Softly, she made a request. "I'd like to go home, Ed... please..."

Ed stood up in response, and kneeled in front of Sarah, offering her his back. Despite feeling down, the strawberry blonde giggled very weakly.

"Thank you, Ed. But I think I can walk now. Maybe some other time?"

Ed smiled, and stood up to follow his sister's steps back to their home.

"Ed?"

"Yes, baby sister?"

"Do you think Jimmy hates me?"

The boy let go of the door handle. "Why would he hate you?"

"I... I haven't treated him well these past days..."

"I... I don't know, I don't think he would... you're good friends"

Sarah was very hesitant. _If Jimmy doesn't hate me, then why hasn't he come to see me?_ She knew that what happened between them, her lashing out at him was her fault alone. As such, she would understand if her friend wouldn't want to be with her.

And, since that was the most she had ever talked to Ed, she didn't want to pressure him with her worries.

"Um... I... I'll be upstairs..." She said, saddened and resigned to spend her days with the guilt that her actions had hurt an innocent.

"I'll make you something to eat, Sarah."

As she turned towards the stairs, Sarah smiled. Her brother's care had moved her.

 _I should have never treated you badly, Ed..._

And with that thought, the girl slumped on her bed. While depressed still, she was sure at least one person out of the six or so billion inhabitants of the planet would look after her...

* * *

"What're you holding, Jimmy?"

"Oh, these are some notes, Double D."

"Hey, hey! Move, Sockhead!" Eddy protested as the kids were getting off the school bus. Both friends had to start walking to the cul de sac to avoid problems with the others.

"Sorry. So why didn't you put your notes away?"

Jimmy was nervous, but resolute. "I… I'm going to Sarah's. I'll just drop these off…"

Double D was puzzled. "But Jimmy, didn't Nazz say Sarah wasn't feeling well, and that her disease may be contagious?"

Jimmy stopped walking, an act which Double D followed. "I… I don't care, Double D. I'm sick of waiting for her to feel better–"

Jimmy had to step back as Double D was pushed his way.

"Oi, Sockhead! You almost made me trip!" Eddy had been so busy mocking Kevin that he stumbled on Double D.

"Pardon me, Eddy. But maybe you too should watch where you are going…"

"Whatever! What's with your drama?!"

The beanie boy explained, "We're concerned about Sarah, Eddy." Upon hearing his words, the short con artist dropped his goofy demeanor.

"Sarah?"

"Yeah," Jimmy intervened. "I'm going to drop off some notes for her, and while I'm at it I'll see if I can talk to her…" Even Eddy could notice that, while the wimpy boy was saddened, his voice revealed a form of strength, the likes he had only experienced when he wanted to make up with Double D.

"That's very admirable, Jimmy. Would you wait for me? I'm going to drop my stuff home and go with y–"

Big nope. Immediately, Eddy pushed Double D aside. "Ha ha! Sorry, Jimmy! But I have to take Sockhead with me!"

The boy in question, confused even more, dared ask. "W-What're you up to?"

"Why do you need Double D, Eddy?"

"Eh… He has to help me with homework…"

"But we don't have hom–"

"C'mon, Double D!" Eddy said, dragging his friend away.

Jimmy wasn't certain what was going on, as Eddy seemed too eager to be with Double D, but whatever Double D would say to him conflicted with his reason for "borrowing" their brainy friend.

 _I don't need to rely on Double D all the time… I have to do this myself!_

* * *

Once inside his room, Eddy let go of his smart friend.

"What's going on, Eddy? You know we didn't get any homework assigned today…"

Eddy turned to face him. "I know. I was preventing you from going over there."

Double D grew surprised. "Why?"

Eddy raised an eyebrow at his friend. Suddenly his brain didn't matter, as Eddy felt on equal footing with him. "You don't wanna go there, man. Better leave'er alone for now."

 _De ja vu_. He heard that before. "What are you saying? Why shouldn't I go with Jimmy to see Sarah?"

"Exactly because of that. You're going to see Sarah."

Double D became a little annoyed. "Eddy, I thought you had overcome your differences with Ed's sister, why are you–"

But he got interrupted rather hastily. "C'mon, Double D, don't you get it? I'm doing this for her sake."

 _Wait a sec... Where have I heard that before?_ "For her sake? Marie told me the same thing! What are you guys planning?"

Eddy face palmed himself. "Really, Double D? Really?" He approached his friend as he put a hand on his shoulder. "For such a smart guy, tell me… HOW DENSE CAN YOU BE?!"

Double D widened his eyes as Eddy yelled to his ear. The need to get away from his short friend made him sit down on the bed. Eddy continued.

"Didn't you tell me that the problem she had with Jimmy was related to May somehow?"

"May? Uh, yeah, I did."

"Well, genius. Who else here is involved with May?"

A long and uncomfortable pause set itself in the room, as Double D slowly pointed a finger to himself.

"… Me?"

"There! That's the whole point! The problem here doesn't have to do with May, it has to do with you!" As Eddy kept speaking, the beanie boy's eyes kept getting bigger and bigger.

"Sarah likes you"

* * *

Carefully, Ed went upstairs carrying a food tray. Once there, he pushed Sarah's bedroom door to open it.

"Sarah, I brought you lun–"

He quieted himself down as he saw his sister had fallen asleep. He wasn't surprised, given that she had had an erratic sleeping schedule the whole week. Softly, he placed the food on her dresser. _She might be hungry when she wakes..._

The bell rang, and Ed felt the need to hold his breath. Fortunately, Sarah didn't wake. The tallest of the Eds hurried down the stairs and opened the front door.

"Jimmy! Hi!"

The small boy smiled weakly. "Hi, Ed. How's Sarah doing?"

"She's… not well, Jimmy." The words from his best friend's brother made Jimmy feel like crying.

"She's not? Oh… Ed, could I possibly see Sarah for a bit?" Despite having heard of the girl's condition, Jimmy's mind was resolute.

Ed frowned, and his facial expression told the boy something wasn't right. "Sorry, Jimmy. She's sleeping…"

"Oh… well…" The younger boy doubted himself for a second and made to leave. "Wait, Ed… I wanted to give her these… These are my notes from class, she might need them. Please, give them to her, and-and" Hastily, Jimmy brought out a paper from her backpack and scribbled on it for a few minutes. "And give her this note, too…"

"Okay, Jimmy."

"Thanks, Ed… bye, bye"

Jimmy left, his spirits rather down. He tried but was unable to see his love.

And yet, there was a flicker of hope that, despite his sadness, he could not shake off. His message had been delivered.

* * *

 _Her head hurt. She had sneezed so much last night that she could barely sleep. So, as per Mom's orders, Sarah had to stay in bed all day._

 _The girl was bored. She wanted to desperately go out and play, but she felt too tired to move anyways. Fortunately she wouldn't be alone, as her next door neighbor Jimmy came in to her house first thing in the morning, and hadn't left her side since._

 _It was only when he needed her stupid brother's assistance that things started to go downhill._

" _There, there, little frail one. Jimmy will take care of you" Jimmy said as he grabbed one of Sarah's hands and patted her on it._

" _Ed is here to make you all better, Sarah"_

 _Somehow, the strawberry blonde felt serene. Despite her illness, she felt at ease. She was looked after, and both her best friend in the whole world and her brother worried over her. She felt… loved._

 _So, she allowed herself to be spoiled. "I feel hot"_

" _Oh, let me soothe you…" Immediately, Jimmy produced an umbrella, and began fanning her with it. Sarah couldn't ask for someone more amazing than him…_

" _Thank you, Jimmy…"_

* * *

Sarah felt a breeze on her face. Slowly, she opened her eyes. The memory of her dream, an incident that actually had happened a bit less than a year ago, made her heart race. She looked to her side with hope…

… Only to find her big brother fanning her. While she was thankful for the gesture, Sarah couldn't help but feel down.

"Ed?"

"Sorry, Sarah. I didn't mean to wake you. But you were sweating in your sleep, so I thought some air would be nice…"

"… Thanks. Really" She said, but her frown never left her face.

 _What did I expect? I blew it! I drove him away… I never should've snapped on him like I did. He just wanted to help me! He's always been there to help me, but I always took him for granted, and now…_

Her eyes started to well up with tears. Her dignity was shot. Ed had seen her cry so many times in the past few days, so once more wouldn't matter, right?

"Oh, I almost forgot. Jimmy stopped by"

None of her thoughts mattered anymore. She was surprised, but still managed to ask as she sat up.

"He did?"

"Yeah, uh…" Ed said, as he brought out a couple of wrinkled papers from his pocket. "He left this with me to give you. Said something about school"

Sarah grabbed the papers and instantly recognized her friend's handwriting. _These are his class notes_. One by one, Sarah started inspecting each sheet, and each page, as if each trace of pen, each letter, each dot had just one bit of the essence of the boy she missed and wanted to see.

In her haste, a paper fell from between the notes. Upon seeing it, Sarah noted it was smaller than the others.

"He wrote that on the fly and told me to give it to you as well"

Sarah noticed the paper was blank, but upon turning it over, she widened her eyes at the words contained:

 _Dear Sarah,_

 _I hope you are feeling better. Nazz told us you were very sick, and that your disease was contagious. I wanted to see you this afternoon, but Ed told me you were sleeping. So I thought it best to let you rest and gave Ed my notes. These are the notes from our classes for the last two days that you have missed. If he hasn't given them to you yet, please ask him_

 _We are worried about you. Double D and I keep hoping that you feel better soon, that way we could see you again. In the meantime, we have been working on the project together. It's coming out awesome!_

 _I also wanted to apologize to you. I've been thinking a lot about how you feel towards May and Double D being together, and I think I understand what you meant. I have to agree that yes, they may seem a bit too affectionate at times._

 _I'm sorry if you have felt neglected, but none of us predicted they would get together. I really want you to feel better regarding this, so I want you to know that from now on I'll try to see your side of things more. I can't bear to not be in touch with you, or worse to have you feel like you have no one understand you._

 _I want to understand you more and I also want to be there for you from now on. You are too important to me, and I don't ever want to lose what I have with you… and what I feel for you, and you alone._

 _Jimmy_

"Sarah, are you ok?"

She couldn't help it. It was only when one of her tear drops fell dangerously close to the words Jimmy wrote that Sarah snapped out of her thoughts and protected the letter, bringing it close to her heart.

"Here, maybe some food will do you good."

 _None of that matters right now…_

In a second, the girl put on her sneakers. She brought a hand to clean her eyes as she arranged her blouse with the other. Then she combed her hair rather swiftly with her hands.

"… Maybe later, Ed. Thanks… but I have to go."

Ed was surprised at his sister's sudden activity. "You're going out, Sarah?"

"Yeah… uh, I'll be right back."

Her eyes bore a new shine as she stepped out her front door.

* * *

 **Notes:** This chapter involves the concept of the fifth stage. What would come next?

Be aware this is the second to last chapter for this story.

Please review! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

She made it to his house panting. The fact that she hadn't eaten or slept properly for the past two days was catching up to her. Sarah knocked on the doorbell a few times, but there was no response. Looking from outside to the windows, she didn't see any lights on, nor did she hear any noise. Then she remembered his parents were out most of the day.

 _Ooh… where has he gone?_

The girl breathed in a couple of times as she resumed her dash. In her hurry, she had overlooked the three children reunited at the house of the shortest boy in the cul de sac.

* * *

He had gone to search for his brainy friend to work on their project, but no one would answer at his house. Thinking Double D might still be spending time with Eddy, Jimmy had made his way to the guy's house.

He had never expected the news that awaited him.

Double D was sitting on Eddy's bed, unsure of what to say, as Eddy leaned on the window frame, his back facing it as he directed himself to him and the youngest of them, the boy in the cyan shirt who stood in the middle of the room, motionless and terribly confused.

"I'm sorry, squirt, but that's the way it is. It all started with Double D dating May, right? That's why Sarah's been so down."

"I…"

"I remember how much of a pain she was that we couldn't finish baking our pizza because of her. I thought it was just a silly whim, and I would tease Sockhead from time to time about it… But I guess she really felt that way about Double D…"

Having taken in all of what the short con had to say, Jimmy fell to the floor on his knees, an action which caused the smartest of the Eds to stand up and head over to his friend

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Jimmy. I had never expected for Sarah to bear such feelings… I know this must be hard for you, but…"

The boy stood up, surprising the beanie boy and stopping his words. "Yeah… I… I don't know what to think…"

"I feel just as confused as you are, Jim –"

"But none of this is your fault, Double D."

Both Eddy and Double D stared at their younger friend more intently.

"To be honest with you, I hated you a lot on that day when Sarah wanted to hang out with you and not me… I had just come to realize how… important she was, and now is to me. I know now the flower you gave her was out of context and a misunderstanding. But even so, I can't force her not to like you. That's just not how things work… But, I'm… I'm…"

Double D frowned as he could hear his good friend's voice break but slightly…

"… I'm supposed to be her b-best friend, right? Sarah has to accept that you and May are together… and she's going to need someone to help her through it… I want to be there for her! Just… like you guys would be there to help your loved ones, right Double D, Eddy?"

Both Eds were flabbergasted that such mature words would come out from someone so small. Double D, thinking of May, nodded resolutely. "Yes, Jimmy, most certainly."

Eddy, blushing, gazed away as he was reminded of a certain redhead. "If you say so."

Jimmy took a deep breath and tried puffing up his shirt, but both boys with him realized his movements were forced.

"I guess… thanks for telling me, Eddy. It would have been worse for me to find out later, or even through her own mouth. I'll see if I can help her out over the weekend…"

"Yeah… Sure, Jimmy…" Eddy said, still surprised at the boy

"I'm gonna go now, I'll… I'll see you guys later."

"Wait, Jimmy. I should get going too. See you later, Eddy."

"Bye, guys."

As his front door closed, Eddy could not help but to sit down on his sofa, while bringing a hand to his head. _Would I be able to react the same way if this happened to me?_

* * *

"… It's kinda late to work on the project, Double D. Do you think we could get together some other time?"

"We're not working on it today? I thought we were headed to my house…"

"Actually, I wanted to go to the park for a bit…"

Double D inquired as he opened his front door. "Are you sure you're gonna be alright, Jimmy?"

"Yeah Double D. Don't worry about me anymore… thank you so much." Said the boy, as he regaled his older friend with a weak smile. All Double D could do to comfort his friend was smile back as he gave his arm a slight squeeze.

* * *

His parents were going to arrive soon, so he didn't want to have to answer questions. It was the perfect place.

He just couldn't lift his gaze from the ground, staring at it from the bench he was sitting down on. Slowly, slowly, the world started to become blurry. A soundless, but very palpable sorrow manifested itself in the form of tears, tears that the young boy shed, tears that were supposed to wash away the hurt of defeat and loss of hope.

But such tears would not take effect. The pain was still there. Jimmy reasoned with heaviness in his heart that a whole life of getting to know Sarah, and the love that he had developed for her, could not simply be forgotten or cast aside.

But it had to be done.

Sighing, he rubbed his eyes as he remembered his own words, the words he had said to his friends. Jimmy had to be strong for her.

* * *

She wondered how it was possible for her to still be standing. Sarah was holding her arms against her knees, bent over in exhaustion. The strawberry blonde had ran to the library, but Jimmy wasn't there. She made her way to the mall, but Jimmy wasn't there. She couldn't even find him at the candy store!

Tired and disappointed, she turned left, heading for Rethink Avenue to go back home, try to sleep a little, and start over again the next day.

 _I wanted to see him…_

Cleaning tears off her eyes, she walked by the park. Her steps were brought to a stop as she stared at the swings for a bit. Sarah remembered how the simple words Johnny had said to her had brought forth so much more sense and realization to her troubled mind.

 _Maybe I'll sit on the swings for a bit…_

Convinced that it wouldn't hurt for her to be five more minutes outside, Sarah walked towards the swings. And yet, just as she was about to sit, something inside of her told her she wasn't alone. In the midst of all the green, her eyes suddenly caught a non-matching color that Ed's sister recognized rather well.

 _It… it's…!_ Her eyes watered, and suddenly the swing remained forgotten. Sarah ran, faster and faster, as she felt that soon enough her legs would refuse to work.

"Jimmy! Jiiimmyyy!"

The pale boy, having heard his name being called out, turned around to see who looked for him. Immediately his heart skipped a beat, as he saw the person for whom many of them were dedicated.

"Sarah?"

The strawberry blonde jumped her friend, as her arms closed around his neck. Jimmy felt new tears starting to form on his eyes, as he heard his best friend wail. Sarah tried to speak, but all that would come out from her throat at that moment were whimpering noises that would only make her feel even sorrier.

* * *

They were inches away. As the sun had started to set, the strawberry blonde could not realize the boy was blushing. Having calmed down a little bit, Sarah could now say her mind to the boy right before her.

"I-I'm so sorry… so, so sorry Jimmy… I've hurt you… I've made you the object of my own anger, I… I'm such a bad person! A bad friend, I–"Sarah kept apologizing, as the tears would not stop flowing down, and her voice was distorted by hiccupping.

"No… No, Sarah it's okay. I suppose the way you acted was normal… given that…" Jimmy said, trying to be as soothing as he possibly could be, not realizing how close he was to his love and how familiar he was acting towards her as he kept caressing her hair to comfort her. Once he realized this, Jimmy removed his hand from her and lowered his gaze, reddening a bit more.

"I'm sorry. I know how you've been feeling, because of Double D and May…"

Sarah quieted down as she stared at Jimmy with wide eyes.

"I know how much you l-like him… but Sarah, he's with May now. We can't do anything about that, but I want to be there for you. I can help–"

"I… don't"

"Pardon?"

"…"

"I don't like Double D…"

Jimmy was wide-eyed at such a sudden declaration. In his surprise, he turned his head to look his companion in her eyes. "But Eddy said–"

"… not anymore…"

Jimmy remained silent. The sudden interruption he was object to by Sarah could not simply be left at just that. Eventually, he dared to inquire.

"… Why?"

Silence ensued, and every second of it became unbearable. It seemed as if both pre-teens were engaged in a staring contest. The boy frowned, expectant, while the girl looked at him intently. Her lips started to move

"Do you remember when I was sick last year?"

"Yes…"

Sarah sighed. "You were there for me. You took care of me, at the risk of your own health. You have always been there for me, Jimmy…"

Jimmy's eyes widened even more, and they began to get watery again. But despite what he heard, the boy in the cyan shirt put both of his hands on Sarah's shoulders and pushed her away but gently.

"S-Sarah! This… I know you're not feeling well because they love each other, but this is not the way for you to forget him! You can't force yourself to like someone else… I… I really l-like you, but what you're doing is just lying to me and you–"

A finger to his mouth was all it took for the boy to quiet down. Before him, a smile and a pair of tearful, moisty eyes stole his breath.

"Oh, Jimmy… Have I ever lied to you?"

The realization of truth in the words of his best friend, the love of his life, hit him so hard that in result, Jimmy had become beet red. "N…N…"

"I admit, I got really upset because of the relationship Double D started with May. But I've been thinking about it a lot, and… I've been confused about what I felt for Double D. True, he's always been kind to me, but he's like that to everyone. I think if I've ever come this close to like him, it's because he's friends with Ed…"

"… But you, on the other hand… You know me well. Maybe too well!" She said giggling a little. "You know what to do to cheer me up, you always try your hardest for me, you're always trying to support me, even when I don't deserve it. All this time, I was so blind… because I-I think I actually feel the same way... as you…"

It was now her turn to blush, as the distance in between the two was slowly shortened. Jimmy felt in heaven, as the moment he had yearned for so much, for so long, had finally arrived. His lips caressed those of the one he loved, as the kiss they shared brought forth feelings of pleasantness and belonging…

… And yet, he would later deem such feeling to be short-lived, for no sooner had both lovers come together that they separated. Sarah locked eyes with Jimmy, the other doing the same, as they stared at each other with looks of conspiracy and embarrassment.

Slowly, each started to develop a profound smile, until such a smile turned into a soft laugh, as the two joined each other in a heartfelt hug, their heads resting against each other.

Pain faded as there was only room for a warm, well received feeling…

* * *

 **Epilogue**

"Eddy, Double D!"

He was happy beyond words, as he finally reunited with his best friends. After waiting for her for so long, Ed saw his baby sister enter their home. Sarah bore a smile from ear to ear, even as she was getting chewed out by their mom for leaving the house on her own, given her condition, and returning after sunset. As punishment, she was to not leave her room for a week, except to go to school.

He found it funny that, as soon as their mom told her the punishment would not involve working on her school project with Jimmy, and the boy could come visit her, Sarah did a backflip, causing her punishment to extend for another week.

And yet, due to the fact that she was all sweaty from running, the strawberry blonde caught a cold, causing her not to be able to leave the house anyways. As the good big brother that he was, he stood with her to care for her… but even he would freak out a bit as he would see her sigh and smile every time she sneezed.

"Lumpy… you're crushing meeee…" Eddy said, happy to see Ed, but annoyed at the same time as he was losing air fast.

"… Wheeze… wheeze…" Was all Double D could say…

"Sorry!" Ed said as he put his two friends down. Just as they had begun to talk and catch up, the school bus arrived.

"C'mon guys, we gotta get good seats!" Said their self-appointed leader, as he started to run to the bus, Ed following him. Double D was about to do the same, but sounds coming from behind him made him stop and turn.

* * *

The two of them were walking towards the bus, their paces calm.

"Here's your quarter, Jimmy!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sarah. I would've bought you a jawbreaker even if you hadn't asked…"

"But I insist," The girl said, as she put the candy away.

"You're not gonna eat it? Why would you want it for, then?"

Looking ahead, the girl saw her objective. Sarah smirked as she walked behind her beloved. "I just have to test something…"

"Jimmy?"

"Hi, Double D!" The boy replied to his friend's salute, overly enthusiastic. It was at that moment that the strawberry blonde stepped aside from behind him.

"S-Sarah! How are you? I do hope you're feeling much bet–"

The boy in the beanie hat could not continue to speak, for no sooner had he awkwardly addressed the girl he knew had feelings for him than he found himself receiving a punch which made his head turn sharply as his body did several twirls in the air, only to fall head first to the ground. Confused, Double D brought a hand to his cheek.

"W-What was that for?"

In response, Sarah dedicated him a smile, as she offered him a hand to stand.

"Nothing. I needed to find out if I could still do it!" She snickered a bit. The boy who held her heart looked at her confused, while the one who did before just pouted at her.

"Aww c'mon, Double D! It couldn't have hurt that bad, could it? Here… maybe this'll numb the pain away…" She said, as she passed by him and handed him the jawbreaker.

Now he understood it all. Jimmy was reminded of their previous interactions together, and how Sarah would over-compensate her actions to try to impress Double D. Her natural behavior now brought a smile to his face. As he walked over the smartest of the Eds, still confused, he patted his friend on the arm.

"Sorry! But you've gotta admit… she's a lot happier now, isn't she?"

Realizing the truth in his words, Double D shrugged as he, too, smiled and turned around to follow his friend.

* * *

"Why does your mouth look so strange, Sockhead?!"

"… What are you talking about, Eddy?" The beanie wearing boy feigned ignorance

"Don't play dumb!" Eddy accused his friend, not even waiting for him to get off the bus stairs. "You're eating a jawbreaker!"

"… I'm not…" He lied, "I tripped before getting on the bus and my face must have swollen…" Curse his luck. It didn't help that he sat behind his two friends, for the jawbreaker hadn't completely melted away yet!

"You stink! I can smell it from here! How could you hide it from meeee!" Eddy said, as he started to chase his best friend.

"No, really, I don't have anythiiing!"

Jimmy snickered as he saw the Eds running around to school.

"Shall we?"

Sarah giggled as she took her beloved and best friend's hand and closed it in her own. The two started walking around the school hallways, when suddenly she saw two familiar faces.

Lee Kanker going through some papers in her locker as her blue haired sister, Marie, stood a few steps away from her. She figured May had gone looking for Double D.

As soon as they were close enough, the blue head turned her face to look at her. Sarah wouldn't have minded to see surprise in her eyes but such a feeling never came. It seemed as if the older girl knew where her destiny belonged.

Timidly, but full of sincerity, Sarah smiled. "T-Thank you…"

All Marie would do was return the smile and wink. She turned her head to look at them, as both Sarah and Jimmy became smaller as they kept walking.

 _To think that a week ago I was actually sad…_

She turned to kiss her boy in the cheek, an act which made him red in the face. Tightly, she hugged his arm as she rested her head on his shoulder.

 _All this time, I was so blind…_

 _But now I can finally see._

 _I never knew, I never really knew who I liked,_

 _But all of the while…_

 _All of the while… it was you, All Along…_

* * *

 **Notes:** One more fanfic done! Sorry if I delayed my posting for a while, but it was actually a bit trickier to come up with an ok plot while revolving around the same issue of unrequited love.

If you haven't figured it out yet, the stages I was referring to involve the Kubler-Ross model: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Sorrow, and Acceptance. While this model is usually applied to terminally ill patients, I found it has a curious application for this case.

As has been the norm with me so far (except in _WWR, Withered White Roses_ ), this fic has a happy ending, fitting for what must come beyond the Acceptance stage. But while I come up with a good plot for the next "Direct Continuation" story, I'm gonna work on one-shots (which would still be somewhat tied into the story in the same way as _Let's Play A Game_ ), but also try to explore more into tougher styles, by exploring "Alternate Realities" of these stories. If anyone has any ideas to explore deeper onto an specific character or pairing, please let me know!

Thank you very much for reading, and please review!

gfcf14


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